You would know, wouldn’t you, Lefty? 😂
Posted on 05/29/2026 1:00:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Where’s the beef? Not in Texas — at least, not as much as it used to be. Texas barbecue joints are shutting their doors across the Lone Star State as sky-high beef prices turn brisket — once the centerpiece of a blue-collar meal — into a luxury item that many customers can no longer afford.
From Houston suburbs to rural smokehouses, pitmasters say soaring wholesale beef costs, inflation and shrinking customer traffic are crushing margins and forcing some of the state’s most celebrated BBQ institutions out of business.
SNIP
“When brisket costs $36 a pound for the consumer and then you got ribs and sausage and sides and desserts and all that … you can easily be spending $70 to $100 for barbecue,” Jones told his followers on YouTube.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Well, that’s just peachy.
Break up Tyson and JBS and we would have lower prices.
“Four giant companies – that’s right, FOUR – Tyson, Cargill, and Brazil-based National Beef and JBS, now control 85% of the U.S. beef market. WH Group (Chinese), JBS, Hormel, and Tyson control about 67% of the pork market. Tyson and Pilgrims Pride control about 45% of the chicken market. “
—
I know people that used to raise cattle and they had to get out of the business. They talked about the bigger processing facilities buying all the smaller ones.
There were far fewer processing facilities (buyers) for their product. You either accepted their offer or got nothing. They closed a lot of facilities and forced those raising cattle to drive a lot further to sell their cattle. Having to drive a lot further also cut into their profits.
The biggest problem is the big companies buying up all the competition. They can charge whatever they want.
Sorry. Forgot the link ...
You are right, I mistyped.
Exactly. This hyperbolic, doom and gloom article doesn’t remotely match what I see and experience on a pretty much daily basis. The barbecue joints in my area are busy and a couple frequently sell out before dinnertime on weekends.
fake news to me, i have no problem eating steak daily if I choose to..
I signed up to cookunity and they deliver fresh cooked meals to me weekly. now i don’t even have to leave the house to buy beef.
Agreed. I used to be a medium scale lamb producer. I stopped selling them to processors buying them at sale. I instead did ultrasounds on the loins and shoulders. I posted it on line to restaurant buyers. New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, upscale restaurants would buy lots based on selected scores. A lot more busy work, but it paid around 55% higher with no pencil shrink. It’s rough to sell lambs at 80 cents live weight, to only see them show up @$14.99 a pound at Whole Foods.
The environmentalist/anti-meat coalition is dragging meat production down and pushing its prices up.
Hopeful, are ya?
Thank you for your post. It’s real world experience like that which keeps me interested in FR.
Truth is hard to face for a lot of people. Toughen up.
I heard him saw it. Something must be wront.
Speak Engrish, for starters.
Especially if you’re attempting to bash someone.
🙃
Whole hog over wood coals baby.
Grocery store prices have exploded over the last year.
Our problem is lack of competition.
We used to have four major grocery stores - three of them were regional stores that were excellent.
The three regionals started going broke about 20 years ago.
Kroger eventually bought and combined all three regionals into QFC, which is now failing.
We still have Safeway - owned by Albertsons - which tried to buy QFC.
A Federal court blocked the QFC purchase because Safeway would have a local monopoly.
So, what happens?
Kroger will probably start closing King County QFC stores in the near future.
In the mean time, QFC decided to raise all its prices to the Safeway level.
By the way - the minimum wage in Seattle - for ALL jobs - is $21.30
As if the New YORK Post knows anything about Texas.
We haven’t seen ANY (REAL) TX BBQ joints complaining, like this ... or, forced to ‘close’.
Cope harder, NYP.
Can you move to a red state?
“ I just left the restaurant supply store and decided on pork steaks until further notice. Buy the whole boneless butt, slice it into 10 to 12 ounce steaks. $1.89/lb. (10 to 12 pound roast)”
That’s what I do.
”
You would know, wouldn’t you, Lefty? 😂
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