Cowboys cope with cattle shortage
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GLENDO, Wyo. — The rules of steer wrestling are simple enough: chase a runaway steer, leap off your horse and muscle the animal to the ground.
“You better have your hammer cocked and like a little bit of contact,” said professional steer wrestler Austin Eller, 31, who began competing at 16 years old.
But finding steers to wrestle is getting harder.
The best steers come from Mexico. On May 11, the United States suspended all live cattle, horse and bison imports into the country to curb the spread of New World Screwworm, a parasitic fly whose larvae eat the tissue of warm blooded animals. Screwworm flies can also harm wildlife, pets and occasionally humans.
Mexican Corriente cattle tend to be older, more consistent runners and have the stamina needed to compete in multiple rodeos. In fact, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) mandates that their rodeos use Corriente breed cattle raised in Mexico, certified with a letter “M” brand.
“They’re more honest,” said Eller, who keeps a herd of 10 to 15 Corriente cattle to practice steer wrestling at his ranch in Glendo, Wyoming.
This year he opted to buy Corriente raised in the United States rather than pay a premium for Mexican cattle.
“Prices are dang sure up,” said Eller.
A cowboy wrestles a steer at the Earl Anderson Memorial Rodeo in 2024. Photo: Cormac McCrimmon, Rocky Mountain PBS. Video: Cormac McCrimmon, Rocky Mountain PBS
Two years ago, Corriente cattle born in the United States cost between $350 and $500 per head. Now they’re selling for north of $1,600, said Riley Duvall, a professional steer wrestler who is currently ranked eighth in the world.
As rodeo season heats up, Corriente cattle shortages are forcing rodeos to search for alternatives.
Jace Honey is one of the country’s largest steer traders. Every year, he buys 500 rodeo-grade steers from Chihuahua, Mexico. This year, Honey managed to purchase 500 steers two days before the border closed. They cost $1,650 per steer, up $250 from the fall.
“It’s been a crazy year,” said Honey.
The border previously closed from November 2024 to February 2025, after inspectors detected New World Screwworm in southern Mexico.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, screwworm parasites have been detected as far north as Oaxaca, Mexico — 700 miles south of the border.
The suspension will persist on a month to month basis, “until a significant window of containment is achieved,” said USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, in a May 11 press release.
Once across the border, Honey’s steers travel to over 300 rodeos across the West. He supplies steers for professional rodeos, like the National Western Stock Show in Denver and Frontier Days in Cheyenne, along with high school and college rodeos.
Many rodeos have responded to the shortage by running last year’s cattle, said Duvall. He’s also seen smaller jackpot competitions postpone roping and steer wrestling events altogether because the price of cattle is too steep.
“As the summer goes on and there's bigger rodeos and more rodeos, it's going to become a problem,” said Duvall.
Duvall said he doesn’t know of any plans yet to change the rules to allow the use of more cattle raised in the US at PRCA rodeos. “But if the border doesn't open in the next couple months, we’ll be headed in that direction,” said Duvall.
For now, high beef prices may allow rodeo contractors like Honey to recoup much of their costs at the end of the season when steers are fattened and sold for slaughter, but Duvall said the price of steers is “unsustainable.”
“It’s kind of a Catch-22. We need prices to go down a little, and all of the people that make their living with cattle need prices to stay high,” said Duvall.
He doesn’t expect the cattle shortage to derail steer wrestling or team roping events at the country’s largest rodeos. But smaller rodeos are more likely to see changes.
If “they don't have enough cattle, half the steers are going to walk out and stop,” said Duvall. “That's terrible to watch.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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