At their meeting on Thursday, June 23, the Bingham County Commissioners proclaimed July 2026 as Beef Month, once again recognizing the significant contribution of the beef industry in Bingham County. Matt Thomson, a cattle rancher near Blackfoot and an Idaho Cattle Association board member, was at that meeting and said this was the third year in a row that the Bingham County Commissioners made this declaration. Other members of the Idaho Cattle Association — Cameron Mulrony (executive vice president) and Val Carter (president of the Idaho Cattle Association) were on hand for the annual signing.
This all started when T.K. Kuwahara was executive director of the Idaho Beef Council. “She contacted me three years ago because she knew I was on the Idaho Cattle Association Board and asked me to approach the commissioners. The Association was trying to do a statewide drive for beef recognition. So I went to our commissioners, and they all agreed to do this,” Thomson said. Bingham County has declared July as Beef Month ever since.
“The proclamation listed some of the benefits they see from cattle. There are many statistics that show the beneficial impact of the beef industry for our state and our country. In 2026, the number of cattle in Idaho is approximately 2.5 million head. Our state’s population of people is 2.05 million, so we have more cattle in the state of Idaho than we do people,” said Thomson.
Of that 2.5 million head, 450,000 of those cows are beef cows, supported by 7,300 cattle farmers and ranchers, with an estimated state revenue of $3.9 billion. This makes it a very important industry for the state because more than 60% of that revenue stays within Idaho. “I don’t think very many people truly understand the economic impact it has for our state,” he said. There is a huge ripple effect and many other side industries that are interconnected with agriculture and beef production in Idaho.
“Currently, the income from beef cattle has surpassed the dairy income for the state. Idaho consistently ranks in the top 10 states in the U.S. for cattle. There are commercial cattle operations in every county in Idaho, and cattle have a very positive impact — not only financially for our state, but also for our environment,” he said. They are a good tool for proper range management, reducing fire risk, improving sage grouse habitat and improving soil health on farms.
“Recent studies have shown that beef cattle on the range co-exist well with wildlife. Cattle are also up-cyclers of vegetation that typically goes to waste, by turning grass and other indigestible plant material into animal protein for human food to feed our families,” said Thomson.
About 90% of what cattle eat cannot be digested by humans, and there are many areas of the country that won’t grow food crops; about 29% of the land in the U.S is either too wet, rocky, steep or arid to grow crops, but cattle can graze on native plants in these areas and convert that to protein for us.
“Most people in Idaho — 82% of consumers — have a positive attitude about beef and production, which is fairly high compared with the general population in the country. I think it’s great that the cattle industry has the support of the commissioners in Bingham County to recognize the value of what beef brings to our county and our entire state. There are some other counties in Idaho that have made this same commitment to support the beef industry,” he said.
“If we can help educate consumers and give them good information, it all helps.” Some people think beef is too high-priced today in the grocery store, but they are actually paying about the same percentage of their own income as they did in years past — and it is much cheaper than some of the other products they buy.
“When you look at beef by the pound, compared to many other products, it is a tremendous value. I think their complaint is mainly lack of education and the fact that so many people don’t want to cook at home; they want to eat out three meals a day.”
The nice thing about beef is that so much can be done with it, creating a wide variety of delicious meals and feeding a lot of people for what is spent. If people want to see recipes for ways beef can be used to create wonderful meals, they can go to the Idaho Beef Council website. There are many ways to utilize beef to make wholesome and inexpensive meals, even when beef seems fairly expensive in the grocery store.