American ranchers wrestle with soaring costs - and their loyalty to Trump

Nebraska rancher Yvette Mannon was already having a rough year.

In April, a wildfire destroyed 1,600 grazing acres and 13 miles (21 km) of fence along the ranch she bought in 2002. The ranch is nestled in a corner of Nebraska that's home to rolling green hills under sweeping Midwestern skies, the landscape dotted with grain silos and feedlots alongside fields and fields of bovines.

Mannon's 300 cattle survived the blaze - but the fencing needed to be replaced, and the herd still needed to be fed.

With steel prices at their highest levels in years, heavily affected by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, that meant spending $4.89 a foot - for a total exceeding $300,000.

On top of that, because so much good grazing land had been destroyed, Mannon also needed a tractor out every day delivering hay to her cattle - at a time when diesel prices, spiking due to the Iran War, were up more than 40% from the previous year.

Then in August, the Trump administration announced it would import 300,000 metric tons of duty-free foreign beef in a bid to lower consumer prices. The news hit right before the September-November window when most US calves are weaned and sold.

"So we're 'Buy American', 'Let's Make America Great'," said Mannon, 63, who voted for Trump. "But for you guys over here, sorry."

Many farmers and ranchers across the US say they are being hit from all sides. Recent years have been difficult, with drought affecting crops and already historically low cattle herds. But they say government policies have added to the strain.