"The classic combination of tight supply and strong demand has pushed US cattle and beef prices to record highs, and there is little end in sight with farmers reluctant to expand their herds and selling off high-priced heifers to dig them out of debt. Ground beef prices hit a record high of $6.32 a pound in August, and beef prices were up 13.9% year-over-year according to the consumer price index, far outstripping overall inflation rise of 2.9%."
"Meanwhile, a culmination of years of low prices, rising costs to raise cattle, and years-long droughts that dried up grazing pasture caused cattle ranchers to slash their beef herds to the lowest level since 1951. As a result, CME Group live cattle futures prices recently rose to a high of $243.58 per hundredweight. (Hundredweight is equivalent to $10 per 100lbs) There are several reasons for ranchers' hesitancy, says David Anderson, livestock specialist at Texas A&M University."
US beef and cattle prices have reached record highs driven by tight supply and strong demand. Ground beef hit $6.32 per pound in August and beef prices rose 13.9% year-over-year, well above overall inflation. Years of low returns, higher production costs and prolonged droughts forced ranchers to reduce herds to the smallest size since 1951. Live cattle futures climbed above $243.58 per hundredweight. Many ranchers remain reluctant to expand herds after past price collapses, instead selling high-priced heifers to pay debts and capture current strong returns rather than reinvesting in herd growth.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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