Why Beef Prices Are Rising
Might be a good time to fill that freezer with beef, or put in for some hunting tags, I’m Susan Allen this is Open Range after the break I’ll tell you why the price of beef keeps going up and up. Remember those economic courses, the old supply and demand rhetoric, well that is the reason cattle prices soared this past week . There simply are not enough cattle in US feedlots to meet demand and given the fact that it takes about five months to fatten a steer or heifer analysts and restaurant chains CEO’s have done the math and are preparing for record beef prices. The trickle down effect of less cattle can be devastating on local economies. XL Four Star Beef in Nampa Idaho announced they will be closing their beef plant for lack of cattle. Not only does that mean employee lay-off but Southern Idaho cattle producers are scrambling to find new processors. Weather, the Texas drought and disasters like hurricanes and wildfires have meant many of our nations producer sold off their cattle earlier because of lack of feed. The fact futures hit record highs earlier this year didn’t help either, as again many ranchers took advantage of the market selling off cattle. This creates a double edge sword for beef producers in general, it’s great the price of beef has gone up 9.1 % his last year but there becomes a price point where consumers will to opt for other dietary choices, and industry experts belive that could be when average retail price nears $5.00 a pound. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, today might just be the perfect day to fill that freezer with America's favorite protein, beef.
