(Photo: SebastianKnight/Getty Images)
STATEWIDE — The price you pay for beef is likely going to stay high and may even increase as the year goes on. It’s because of several factors that have to do with the economy when it comes to farming.
The Indiana Beef Cattle Association says beef prices are 10-percent to 15-percent higher than the last two years. The main reason is that there are simply fewer beef producers now than there were before, which is making it hard for the industry.
Mother Nature has also not helped this particular season.
“There have been huge droughts out west that have really cut into supplies out there,” said Brian Shuter, executive VP of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association. “We have seen a lot of liquidation of the cowherd out in the western states.”
Shuter tells WISH-TV that the droughts have led to wildfires, especially in Texas where the fires have threatened several farmers and their herds. Also, the cost to feed cattle has gone up if some farmers corn feed their cattle.
At the same time, consumer demand for beef products has not cooled off. Because of that, farmers are having a tough time keeping up with increased costs of producing beef making it tough to stay in the black.
“It’s still a business,” said Shuter. “We still have to pay our bills and we still have to make money or there won’t be anyone there producing the food.”
Finally, another reason beef prices are up is because in order to make ends meet farmers are selling off heifer cows because they are worth a lot of money right now. That, in turn, means they aren’t being used for breeding and thus herd sizes are smaller.
The post Beef Price Rise Cattle Farmers Struggle To Keep Up With Demand appeared first on WIBC 93.1 FM.
Beef Price Rise Cattle Farmers Struggle To Keep Up With Demand was originally published on wibc.com
