BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Western and central Nebraska are battling the biggest fires in state history, and those working with cattle are taking a big hit.
I visited Wahoo to find out what is happening with local beef prices.
Inside Wahoo Meat Locker, manager Connor Emsweiler tries to keep prices low for his products by shopping for wholesale beef. He said the Wahoo Weiner, made of pork and beef, is his most popular seller.
"Anyone who’s ever lived here or around here and they moved away if they’re ever back in town they’re going to hit up Wahoo Locker for Wahoo Wieners and whatever else they like," Emsweiler said.
Emsweiler is not exactly sure what the short-term impact of the fires will be, but he knows the loss of so many acres of valuable ranchland will not help.
"All it's going to do if we lose cattle is their prices are just going to go up," Emsweiler said.
Customers in the store are already feeling the squeeze of higher prices. Emsweiler's solution is getting creative.
"Ground beef is always pretty reasonable and when ground beef prices started to get higher we came out with what we call Wahoo burger," Emsweiler said.
As if the loss of grazing land was not bad enough, ranchers are saying their hay and other feed is lost or damaged. Emsweiler expects more customers to skip beef altogether.
"There are more people eating chicken or pork right now just because if you can’t afford that expensive steak you’re just not going to buy it," Emsweiler said.
The fix is not going to be quick.
"I think it’s just going to take years of farmers continually to just raise beef and build up the herd," Emsweiler said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
