# prices of beef up due to cattle herds dead from freak blizzard?



## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

Looks like the price of beef has finally been adjusted from that freak storm this year, the 2lb chubs of 93% ground beef skyrocketed! they were $9.95 for years, as long I can remember it's been steady at that price. Today, it's $11.50 for the same chub. 15% is a huge bump.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Live cattle prices have backed off a tiny bit in the last week or two. The fall run is starting (when most calves are brought in from pasture and sold) and barbecue season is wrapping up. This might be the highest prices of the year as far as the price of the actual cattle but of course there are other factors as well. 

@ $5/lb  they must have had a huge margin(mark-up) to deal with so they could avoid price fluctuations to an extent.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

cowboyhermit said:


> Live cattle prices have backed off a tiny bit in the last week or two. The fall run is starting (when most calves are brought in from pasture and sold) and barbecue season is wrapping up. This might be the highest prices of the year as far as the price of the actual cattle but of course there are other factors as well.
> 
> @ $5/lb  they must have had a huge margin(mark-up) to deal with so they could avoid price fluctuations to an extent.


we pay a premium for the 93% and in this area it's probably not a big demand item, the cheapest price is usually what sells here. I prefer to use the 93% unless I'm buying bulk 85% from Costco for canning.


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## airdrop (Jan 6, 2012)

The winter rye that they bale for winter feed this coming winter was very bad this year in Oklahoma so it might cause them to run less cattle for next year. Then you hope this winter pasture of wheat and rye is better . The weather out west has not been very helpful to my fellow Okies .


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

And chicken!! The same 10 oz. can of chicken I bought for a few years and watch every time I go to Kroger's, Aldi's, Meijer's is $2.19.

I bought at Big Lots for $1.70...saving 50¢ a can.
So, that was a $14.00 savings buying 28 cans at Big Lots.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Each year it is something different but just a fact it will go up each year... Odd our feed bill went "down" a dollar a bag. (special mix, we get at the mill) 

As a farmer it is always something...


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

*Andi said:


> Each year it is something different but just a fact it will go up each year... Odd our feed bill went "down" a dollar a bag. (special mix, we get at the mill)
> 
> As a farmer it is always something...


Feed grain, and grain in general is pretty cheap right now. Just a few years ago some grains hit record lows.

The bulkier feeds (bales, silage) are short in some areas and plentiful in others but transportation is difficult. In general it is certainly not the feed prices that are causing the high prices, it is just that supply of cattle is very low. Numbers are down and not recovering much so the packers have to pay more to get the cattle they want.

Cattle are extremely profitable up here for the last couple years


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

This has been a good year for cattle sales here as well. The worst cow is now fetching what the best cow (cull cows) did last year. I sold 2 cows 2 months ago for more than I paid for them 4 years ago. It is unheard of that a cow would appreciate in value rather than decline as she ages. Prices are still good so I will cull a few more before winter and try to create a stock pile of hay while hay prices are on the down swing. Even jersey crosses are selling well.

Traditionally, I could get a better price by selling sides of beef, but now the proccessing cost for a steer is around $600.00, plus I have the hassle of dealing with people who still expect to buy a side for $2.75 lb. When I can get better than $2000.00 at auction, if they even make it there, why bother. I have most of my cows selling out of the pasture. If this goes on rustling could make a comeback.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

OFF T for a moment...

Welcome Clem!!! Just hearing your name, after lo these many years, brings a smile to my face!!! I'm going to have to waste an hour of my life, maybe more, searching UTube now.Thank You.

Ok, back ON T


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Woody said:


> OFF T for a moment...
> 
> Welcome Clem!!! Just hearing your name, after lo these many years, brings a smile to my face!!! I'm going to have to waste an hour of my life, maybe more, searching UTube now.Thank You.
> 
> Ok, back ON T


I wonder how many actually remember Clem Kaddidlehopper, or who he was. The name brought a smile to my fade also, and brought back many memories.

Welcome from Missouri Clem.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

camo2460 said:


> I wonder how many actually remember Clem Kaddidlehopper, or who he was. The name brought a smile to my fade also, and brought back many memories.
> 
> Welcome from Missouri Clem.


Interesting! welcome from Kommiefornia and soon to hopefully be ID or a neighboring state.

I have no previous experience with Clem so I'm absolutely intrigued!


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Just sold some cull heifers, about 1000lbs for over $1400  and they were 5-10 cents off from last week.

It sure makes a person think long and hard about the heifers and cows that you want to keep when a person can get prices like this. Sure, if we could KNOW that the market will hold for a couple years but if we had listened to all the people who KNEW what the market would do in the past then we would be broke or sold out too

We are trying to expand our feed carry-over too. We have always tried to keep a lot extra and it has paid very well over the years.

Cattle theft is already a real concern
http://www.producer.com/daily/police-investigate-cattle-theft-in-alberta/


> An Alberta family is offering a $25,000 reward for the recovery of 59 mixed breed heifers believed stolen from a farm near Czar.
> 
> The theft was noticed earlier this spring when owner Allan Hobbs did a monthly head count. They are feeder heifers weighing about 600 pounds and are valued at $80,000.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-cattle-rustling-and-tractor-thefts-are-on-the-rise/


> Some of the miscreants are turning to farms to feed their drug habits, leading to a meth-fueled return of cattle rustling. Take the case of Oklahoma rancher Jet McCoy, who had 99 head of cattle stolen from his ranch. The two suspects admitted to being meth users.


It certainly is a good reminder of just how important an issue this would be in a disaster situation.


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## airdrop (Jan 6, 2012)

Talking about cows


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

If you US residents want to complain about beef prices, thank you local rcalf members, their planted BSE cow and protectionist antics shrunk the Alberta beef herd by 1/2 due to import restrictions, you can't be manipulating things and then expect cheap beef too. Maybe limiting or putting a tariff on Brazilian beef would have worked better than sabotaging a nafta trading partner. 

or remove the tin foil and go with the weather thing too..........................


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

Tirediron said:


> If you US residents want to complain about beef prices, thank you local rcalf members, their planted BSE cow and protectionist antics shrunk the Alberta beef herd by 1/2 due to import restrictions, you can't be manipulating things and then expect cheap beef too. Maybe limiting or putting a tariff on Brazilian beef would have worked better than sabotaging a nafta trading partner.
> 
> or remove the tin foil and go with the weather thing too..........................


I think I lost you on that one... I know we had the freak blizzard, and I have to imagine that it affected Canadian herds too, unless perhaps you guys keep yours in barns longer because it would be normal for you to still get heavy snows at that time of year??? So you would lose beef too, I think?

and then you're talking about rcalf and BSE and Alberta being impacted... I vaguely remember something about madcow, I didn't remember it was Alberta. I realize there are reasons for fraud and manipulating markets, spite and pure profit are two prime examples, but why would someone plant a madcow case on an Alberta ranch, and why would one cow sour the entire Alberta market?

I don't know that nafta is helping the US that much. it probably is safe to say all the havoc it would wreak according the nay-sayers hasn't happened yet, but overall I still don't see it as a beneficial thing.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Dakine said:


> I think I lost you on that one... I know we had the freak blizzard, and I have to imagine that it affected Canadian herds too, unless perhaps you guys keep yours in barns longer because it would be normal for you to still get heavy snows at that time of year??? So you would lose beef too, I think?
> 
> and then you're talking about rcalf and BSE and Alberta being impacted... I vaguely remember something about madcow, I didn't remember it was Alberta. I realize there are reasons for fraud and manipulating markets, spite and pure profit are two prime examples, but why would someone plant a madcow case on an Alberta ranch, and why would one cow sour the entire Alberta market?
> 
> I don't know that nafta is helping the US that much. it probably is safe to say all the havoc it would wreak according the nay-sayers hasn't happened yet, but overall I still don't see it as a beneficial thing.


We don't keep our cows in barns, ever  The storm did not affect Canada significantly, certainly not Alberta.

A cow that was found to have BSE in Alberta just happened to be owned by an American. When one was found borders instantly snapped shut for Canadian beef, costing us millions and gaining millions for U.S producers.

Rcalf pushed the whole COOL (country of origin labeling) thing that has turned out to be a disaster for both U.S and some Canadian producers. I have nothing against a voluntary or even a mandatory labeling system but the way this was implemented was just bad in too many ways to get into.

Of course, I should let Tirediron speak for himself, just my take on what he was saying.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

cowboyhermit said:


> We don't keep our cows in barns, ever  The storm did not affect Canada significantly, certainly not Alberta.
> 
> A cow that was found to have BSE in Alberta just happened to be owned by an American. When one was found borders instantly snapped shut for Canadian beef, costing us millions and gaining millions for U.S producers.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for your answer, that certainly provides a lot of context. I look forward to Tiredirons reply too but if he browses the forum the way I do he may not notice the conversation continued. I tend to lose track of threads after they fall of the newest thread sidebar... I wish I could deep dive into more/all of them, but I just don't have the time


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

It surprises me that people don't notice these trends. My brother-in-law is manager of a meat department up here in Idaho. He gets calls all the time from people complaining about prices. Beef has had several issues making prices soar at the time that it is in highest demand. Then, everyone moves to pork as it is the next cheapest meat. Then, due to demand and whatever issues pork has prices rise. So, everyone moves to chicken and then, gasp! That goes up, too. Grrr has people calling wanting to pay less than $2 or $3 a pound for high quality bacon. They just don't get it.


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

Dakine said:


> Interesting! welcome from Kommiefornia and soon to hopefully be ID or a neighboring state.
> 
> I have no previous experience with Clem so I'm absolutely intrigued!


Where are you looking at buying? Been living in Idaho almost my whole life, except for a short time in Alaska and Portland.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

As per Cowboyhermits reply our market was devastated by the BSE event, it was in our area part of a perfect storm, the 2 previous years we had very little moisture and ranchers were really hurting anyway, take away our markets and it really sucked. 
As to storms, we have nasty storms lots, but we are used to them and so are our cattle, I like to try to have the first calf heifers where they can have shed access because they are usually bred to calve in February or early march, this year our whole herd is bread to calve early due to a bull swap deal. 

the last couple of years the calf prices have gotten back to reasonable for the producer, the retailer how ever has been gouging the consumer all along, Last fall we sent a prime steer to a really good quality abattoir, the price including what we would have gotten on the hoof came to less than $4.00 #, you can't buy ground beef for that price at a store. For years the price of regular ground beef was 125% of the hoof price. (a dressed beef nets about 50% of hoof weight) 

Now the demand is up and the consumer gets slapped, and the media blames it on a storm. sure there are less animals on the market, and there will continue to be for some time, because producers would rather see the cash for their animals instead of herd building.
Those guys who lost parts of their herds last year will probably have to sell most of their calf crop to make ends meet, so the actual producing herd will take years to build back up.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

Toffee said:


> Where are you looking at buying? Been living in Idaho almost my whole life, except for a short time in Alaska and Portland.


Still shopping! I have family there but I'll have dig up the name of that town again, that was kind of spendy when I looked, I think they price things there to keep me and the other riff-raff out!


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

Dakine said:


> Still shopping! I have family there but I'll have dig up the name of that town again, that was kind of spendy when I looked, I think they price things there to keep me and the other riff-raff out!


I wish. It's all the yahoos from down there that are driving the prices up. They are excited to live on a quarter acre, because look! Grass!


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

*U.S. Meat Export Federation*

Ok so meat prices are up and many blame the weather but who or what we blame on USA beef going overseas at record numbers, somebody is lying to somebody or maybe the U.S. Meat Export Federation is also a government secret organization spreading zombie rumors. 
https://www.usmef.org/news-statisti...ork-beef-exports-on-record-pace-through-june/


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

Toffee said:


> I wish. It's all the yahoos from down there that are driving the prices up. They are excited to live on a quarter acre, because look! Grass!


We have grass in Commiefornia, lots of it! but I don't think that's what you meant


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

readytogo said:


> Ok so meat prices are up and many blame the weather but who or what we blame on USA beef going overseas at record numbers, somebody is lying to somebody or maybe the U.S. Meat Export Federation is also a government secret organization spreading zombie rumors.
> https://www.usmef.org/news-statisti...ork-beef-exports-on-record-pace-through-june/


Not rumors, exports are doing quite well despite the prices. It is really surprising how demand is staying high despite the price increases, people seem to really want their beef. Export markets are paying several hundred dollars more per head than domestic (Canada or the U.S), that is about as high as it ever gets so I don't see why they will back off unless some countries ramp up the protectionism (not likely ATM IMO).

North America accounts for a huge amount of the worlds beef exports, most other regions don't even produce enough for local demands, so when herd numbers are low like they are (due to years of low prices, years of high grain prices, drought in western U.S.A, etc) prices go up around the globe. Other livestock markets have quite different dynamics.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

:gaah:
They want my cows so bad, I don't want to sell anymore right now but they are making it sooooo hard.

Little tiny 410lb steers @ 3.37/lb = $1380
Lil bigger 624lb steers @ 2.65/lb = $1650

Keep em a bit longer and 1000lb steers are @2.13 = $2130


I have had worse problems but this is getting crazy, the higher the prices go, the more it will crash eventually (barring extraordinary circumstances that I will never count on). But, every animal kept is another cheque next year, albeit of unknown amount.

Anyways, if they are paying the farmer over $2/lb for a 1000lb steer that they have to ship, finish, ship, butcher (throw half "away"), ship in a reefer, stock, sell, etc then the price of beef just aint going down anytime soon. A 1000lb steer they buy now won't even hit the grocery store for months.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

I hope the price holds, we got a 80% steer crop this year,


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