Free Republic

If you’re planning to buy some beef to throw on the grill over the next few weeks, expect to pay up to three times more than you did just a couple of years ago, when our domestic supply was plentiful due to a historic cattle selloff. Since 2021, ranchers have been coping with drought and record feed prices, which forced many of them to send their animals for slaughter earlier than usual. And while that led to a higher supply and steadier prices back then, now it is resulting in falling production, empty shelves, and a painful spike in prices...

One of the greatest frustrations I have is looking at prices at the meat counter. We’ve all seen the extremely high beef prices and wonder why pork hasn’t made a run on demand relative to value compared to beef. I was recently talking to a producer and his thought was if we have consumption of 50 pounds of pork per-capita at a retail value of $4 per pound, each individual in the U.S. could buy all their pork for $200 today. This is a real value relative to beef and a great buy for families trying to offset inflated food...

The ABC, CBS and NBC morning news shows continued to shield President Joe Biden from bad economic news as meat prices for consumers skyrocketed across the country. National Public Radio (NPR) said that beef prices have surged a whopping “12.2% over the last year,” based on a new Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation report. Here’s the kicker: The data show that beef is now “one of the costliest items in the surging bills that consumers face today at the grocery store.” Food Dive reported in June of a spike in meat and poultry demand while meat processing companies were wrestling...

WASHINGTON - Strong demand for corn from ethanol plants is driving up the cost of livestock and will raise prices for beef, pork and chicken, the Agriculture Department said Friday. Meat and poultry production will fall as producers face higher feed costs, the department said in its monthly crop report. Ethanol fuel, which is blended with gasoline, is consuming 20 percent of last year's corn crop and is expected to gobble up more than 25 percent of this year's crop. The price of corn, the main feed for livestock, has driven the cost of feeding chickens up 40 percent, according...