Tyson Foods has decided to close its Nebraska meat packing plant in January. That is a big distress signal for the industry, Wyoming cattle ranchers say, a red flare for trouble ahead, not just for meat packers but also for cattlemen.

What’s happening now is all about the price of cattle and the corresponding lack of supply.

Those two things are hammer and anvil. Caught between them is the nation’s beef processing capacity. That's about to get hammered thin, and it has serious implications for the long-term future of Wyoming’s cattle industry.

The Tyson Plant process around 5,000 cattle per day. Some of those cattle are “no doubt” from Wyoming, Crook County cattle rancher Tyler Lindholm told Cowboy State Daily.

“A lot of cow-calf operators sell into Nebraska,” he said. “And those calve

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