The prediction I heard is that beef will hit $5 a pound in the grocery for burger, chuck roast, etc. as the standard price. Saw an article last week about a midwest farmer who has decided to let 1/3 of his crop die because of the drought. Figures he’ll do better trying to keep less of it alive. $10 corn is realistic.
It’s not to late to get a garden going with some things, and with good watering, it will do well. Canning, freezing, drying, and it’ll take the sting off this winter.
I live in southwest Washington State and the weather here has been colder and wetter than usual.
My tomatoe plants have flowers and wimpy green leaves. I suspect this may be a “Year of the Green Tomatoes”.
Bell peppers are doing OK, as are all the herb plants, except for basil.
Haven’t seen it this bad in decades though the lawn sure loves it.
Relevant quotes:
Cattle markets remained on the defensive last week as heat, drought and waning consumer demand continue to take a toll on prices.
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Post-holiday-blues-for-cattle-beef-markets-162527926.html?ref=926
Ranchers are rushing to sell off some of their cattle as the worst drought in nearly 25 years dries up pastures, thins hay supplies and sends feed costs sky-rocketing.
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He got $100 per head less than he did a month ago as the high cost of feed has spooked away potential buyers
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There has been a big jump in the number of cows slaughtered in the United States. Cows are critical to growing the beef herd, fewer cows means fewer beef cattle later. In the week ending June 30, 52,700 cows were slaughtered, 3 percent more than a year ago during the peak of the Plains drought, USDA data showed.
“We’re just going to get down to tiny, tiny amounts of beef available per person in the country,” said Chris Hurt, agriculture economist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“Saw an article last week about a midwest farmer who has decided to let 1/3 of his crop die because of the drought. Figures he’ll do better trying to keep less of it alive.”
I’ve seen entire crops left to waste in a marginal year for the crop insurance.