# Beef Prices Hit 27-Year High



## *Andi

Thanks to dwindling herds and strong export demand, beef prices in the U.S. have soared to levels not seen in nearly three decades.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the average price of fresh beef jumped to $5.28 per pound in February, or 5% higher compared to the prior month. Prices are at their highest point since 1987.

Americans may turn to alternative protein sources to avoid paying record beef prices, the USDA noted.

"High prices for all meats and poultry could drive grilling season away from the higher priced beef cuts toward ground beef, pork and poultry," the agency said in a report released Tuesday.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/04/15/beef-prices-hit-27-year-high/?intcmp=obnetwork


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## LincTex

I know, its insane!!

Ground beef in Central Texas at an HEB store:

96% lean/4% - *$5.47 a pound*
90%/10% - $4.47
73/23 - $3.48 (5lb tube is $10)


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## goshengirl

Just yesterday I was at the store thinking that the beef prices were making the bison prices look good...


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## AdmiralD7S

Sister is home for a few days. For those that don't recall, she is a district manager for FSIS. I was asking her about some of this about 10 minutes ago. Her opinion is if we start getting rain, prices will continue to be high since farmers will hold on to more cattle trying to rebuild the herds. If there's not enough rain, they'll keep current sizes or continue to shrink the herd; result would be a relative leveling-off of prices for the season.


Sent from my iPhone usi


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## cowboyhermit

AdmiralD7S said:


> Sister is home for a few days. For those that don't recall, she is a district manager for FSIS. I was asking her about some of this about 10 minutes ago. Her opinion is if we start getting rain, prices will continue to be high since farmers will hold on to more cattle trying to rebuild the herds. If there's not enough rain, they'll keep current sizes or continue to shrink the herd; result would be a relative leveling-off of prices for the season.


I would tend to agree. It is hard to keep a lot of heifers right now, worth WELL over $1000/hd for just a run of the mill animal, then you have to feed her for a year till she has a calf, then wait another almost year to get paid. At the same time any cow that even looks at a farmer wrong is going to market these days, over $1500 for culls  Butcher cows at $1.10/lb (live) is what we were getting /lb for prime young calves not too many years back, now 500lbers are bringing $2.25/lb (live).

Yes things will turn around, this has just been a long cycle due to many factors, consumption will certainly decrease but I can't see it making much difference in the near term.


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## LincTex

goshengirl said:


> Just yesterday I was at the store thinking that the beef prices were making the bison prices look good...


No kidding. It;s like when propane hit $4 a gallon - - it was cheaper to just use electric space heaters instead!!

We already eat a fair amount of chicken, so I don't think we will be affected near as much.


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## LincTex

cowboyhermit said:


> heifers right now, worth WELL over $1000/hd for just a run of the mill animal, then you have to feed her for a year till she has a calf, then wait another almost year to get paid.


http://waco.craigslist.org/grd/4423128342.html
JERSEY CROSS ANGUS HEIFER CALF*** 4 Months Old and Very Gentle**** $500

http://waco.craigslist.org/grd/4423020620.html
Asking 1350 each for the bred heifers and 1750 for the pair. All are around 825# to 850#

http://waco.craigslist.org/grd/4392305442.html
Angus/Brangus heifer. 12 months old 700-725 lbs and cycling in heat. Ready to breed and help start a very nice herd. $1,500.00 a head


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## cowboyhermit

LincTex said:


> We already eat a fair amount of chicken, so I don't think we will be affected near as much.


I think there will be a lot of that going on, after all feed prices are down so chicken will likely not change nearly as much. Hearing reports of hog farmers loosing 1in4 piggies make me wonder about pork prices though.

I even find myself thinking twice about grabbing a steak from the freezer these days, having to butcher an extra animal stings a little at those prices. Supply and demand at work I suppose, those that really want it (me) will bite the bullet.


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## Dakine

we had that big early blizzard that killed a massive number of cows, I wonder how much that also contributes to the prices going up.


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## *Andi

Beef, Pork And Shrimp Prices Soaring ...

I saw the headline somewhere today ... :gaah:


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## ZoomZoom

One thing that may really help this situation is that corn prices are way down. If the prices were high, I wouldn't want to imagine what beef prices would be.

I'm hoping to ride this out. I have over 800# (hanging weight) in the deep freezers so I'm good for awhile.


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## LincTex

cowboyhermit said:


> I even find myself thinking twice about grabbing a steak from the freezer these days, having to butcher an extra animal stings a little at those prices.


Probably cheaper to just buy a nice steak from time to time - and just eat chicken, pork, fish, etc - and forget about eating beef (primarily) for a while.


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## labotomi

I thought the title of the thread was "Beer" prices at 27-year high. 
Whew!!! Now, I think I'm gonna have a beer to calm myself.


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## cowboyhermit

LincTex said:


> Probably cheaper to just buy a nice steak from time to time - and just eat chicken, pork, fish, etc - and forget about eating beef (primarily) for a while.


Almost definitely cheaper ... but, every time I give up "red meat" for a while (ie; lent) it takes its toll on me:gaah: The cows start to look awful tasty:droolie:
There are always more than one way to look at things and I should probably be thinking that now is the time that we can most afford to eat good. I got the depression era frugality hammered into me pretty well though.

The more we have moved to eating all our own food the more I am uninterested in the stuff from the store:dunno: Part of it is that we have developed a taste for grass finished animals and to buy them in the store, forget it.

We don't feed corn to our cows up here, feedlots use barley almost exclusively, but the price of that is low too (most grain). So I don't see beer prices going up too drastically


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## LincTex

cowboyhermit said:


> feedlots use barley almost exclusively, but the price of that is low too (most grain).


It's the base stock I want to blend my chicken feed out of, but it is hard to find here!


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## cowboyhermit

LincTex said:


> It's the base stock I want to blend my chicken feed out of, but it is hard to find here!


Probably as hard as it is to find corn up here (we can buy it in bags but it costs too much). 
I could send you a hundred bushels in the mail


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## Dakine

labotomi said:


> I thought the title of the thread was "Beer" prices at 27-year high.
> Whew!!! Now, I think I'm gonna have a beer to calm myself.


Don't even think such a thing... OMG... now I need a beer to calm down!!! :cheers:


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## LincTex

cowboyhermit said:


> I could send you a hundred bushels in the mail


If I go to North Dakota this fall with the trailer, I'll bring back 1000lbs


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## ZoomZoom

cowboyhermit said:


> Probably as hard as it is to find corn up here (we can buy it in bags but it costs too much).





LincTex said:


> If I go to North Dakota this fall with the trailer, I'll bring back 1000lbs


What are y'all paying for corn?

Around here, it's under $5/bushel. I get 1000# in bags and give that to the deer.


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## LincTex

ZoomZoom said:


> What are y'all paying for corn?
> 
> Around here, it's under $5/bushel. I get 1000# in bags and give that to the deer.


I think bagged corn is about $7 or $8 a 50 lb bag? That's F*&^$# crazy - - It must sure cost a lot of money to put that stupid deer picture on it...

I never buy any in bags, so...

Last time I bought corn from a local farmer, I just loaded it into a tarp in the back of my F250, only $120 for 1000 lbs


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## cowboyhermit

ZoomZoom said:


> What are y'all paying for corn?
> 
> Around here, it's under $5/bushel. I get 1000# in bags and give that to the deer.


I'm not even sure have only bought it on occasion, it probably isn't that bad considering it is in sacks. Everything is so much cheaper in bulk, once "packaged" it seems to instantly double

Barley is only about $3-4/bushel though, and oats is like $2-3 so grain is pretty cheap atm, of course these days most guys have already "sold" this years crop :scratch


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## LincTex

I just called my source - $200 a ton is the current price (down to $100 for 1000lbs)


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## readytogo

From Andi`s post,(Americans may turn to alternative protein sources to avoid paying record beef prices, the USDA noted.)
I have, beef prices have awaken the cowboy in me, from canning 3,4,5 bean salads, pork and beans ,BBQ beans, refried beans , vegetarian bean chili, bean burritos, bean tacos ,oh well:beercheer:


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## Davarm

I was at the grocery store last week and a mom with several kids was loading up on sirloin, it was cheaper by $1.00 per pound than 80/20 hamburger!

We've been eating a lot of pork lately, we can get whole tenderloins for $2.00 per pound but I've been told that will be coming to an end soon.


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## JayJay

We shop Piggly-Wiggly a little less since IGA Priceless opened 4 months ago.

But we still ask for the 'out of date' meats and haven't been disappointed.
You may want to check at your grocer.
We usually get 13 meats for $20.
Well, I will say the last time the meat dept. pulled a good one--I still don't know why.
For $35 we got over $150 worth of meat--roasts, great steaks, stew meat, and filet mignon!!

Do all grocers do this? Worth asking. 
My freezers are full of chicken I bought at Kroger's and Aldi's and meat from Piggly-Wiggly and lots of ground beef from slaughter house before it doubles in price.

One of those $13.50 roasts gave me 4 meals...pot roast, beef tortillas, taco salad, and vegetable/beef soup. 
I won't get tired of beef yet. Like the weather; I am NOT complaining about 35° last night after the winter we went through.


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## Davarm

Some of the stores in this area(mostly the locally owned) put their meats that are nearing "expiration" all together at one end of the meat cooler but they seldom go for less than half price.

My oldest daughter scored big at a local custom butcher, started trading them tallow soap for all the free tallow, stock bones, and unsold meat cuts she wanted. She doesn't want to take too much advantage of the arrangement so she keeps the meats at a minimum.


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## gardenshepherd

Can't remember the last time we brought beef, ours work out at $1.23 kg. Don't think we could afford to buy beef about $13.00 kg for rubbish mince (all the old meat minced up) over $35 dollars for fillet steak.


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## LincTex

Davarm said:


> My oldest daughter ...started trading them tallow soap for all the free tallow, stock bones, and unsold meat cuts she wanted.


Wow, what a score!


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## talob

*Andi said:


> Thanks to dwindling herds and strong export demand, beef prices in the U.S. have soared to levels not seen in nearly three decades.
> 
> The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the average price of fresh beef jumped to $5.28 per pound in February, or 5% higher compared to the prior month. Prices are at their highest point since 1987.
> 
> Americans may turn to alternative protein sources to avoid paying record beef prices, the USDA noted.
> 
> "High prices for all meats and poultry could drive grilling season away from the higher priced beef cuts toward ground beef, pork and poultry," the agency said in a report released Tuesday.
> 
> http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/04/15/beef-prices-hit-27-year-high/?intcmp=obnetwork


Exactlly right, we've been grinding and canning turkey 1.29$ LB, I look at all the cattle in the fields around here and wonder when the rustling's gonna start.


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## ZoomZoom

LincTex said:


> I think bagged corn is about $7 or $8 a 50 lb bag? That's F*&^$# crazy - - It must sure cost a lot of money to put that stupid deer picture on it...


Further details.
It was last fall when I bought. Corn was a little over $5/bushel.
In the bags (no deer picture ), on a pallet, plastic wrapped, taxes and ready to slide into my truck was $6.12/50# bag.

I then drove it home which is in the next State. From there, it left to another State as a Christmas gift for my Stepmom (so it was carried a couple hundred miles in my truck). The bags were put on her back porch which is enclosed. She can then break open a bag and feed it out.

I really couldn't give her a truck-load not bagged, especially as a Christmas present due to storage of bulk and handling.

I did it because I didn't like her going to some chain store (TSC, Agway...) and paying $15+ for the same size bag and bring home a couple at a time.

She said it was the best Christmas present she's received in a long time. That makes it well worth the $120 I spent.

A view out her window.


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## LincTex

Since I try to never buy "pre packaged" anything... I stay away from bagged corn. I do seem to recall it was about $7.99 a bag with a nice picture on it!

Now that it's down to $200 a ton, I am having a hard time trying to come up with a reason for why I shouldn't go buy some more.... just need a place to put it.


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## Davarm

LincTex said:


> just need a place to put it.


About 1000 pounds(give or take) will fit into around 30-5 gallon buckets and those 30-5 gallon will exactly fit under a queen sized bed.

The bed winds up sitting about 6-8 inches higher than when its on a regular frame but thats not too hard to get used to!


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## valannb22

The store I usually buy my meat at had 80% hamburger for almost $5 a pound last weekend. I ended up buying the prepackaged tube of hamburger from Walmart for $2.39 a pound. Blech


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## LincTex

Davarm said:


> The bed winds up sitting about 6-8 inches higher than when its on a regular frame but that's not too hard to get used to!


My wife is too short to appreciate that idea!

Well, if I get 2000 lbs I would need two queen beds... with small ladders 

2K = ~36 bushels, which is ~45 cubic feet.

It would be great to have a small hopper-bottom grain bin for that. 









.

I found this Sketch-Up on a home brewer site, just need to "scale it up".

http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=81794&mode=threaded&pid=989462
http://s28.photobucket.com/user/bigtom1978/media/grain_hopper.jpg.html









.
Some folks make "feed bins" out of old combine hoppers:


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## LincTex

valannb22 said:


> I ended up buying the prepackaged tube of hamburger from Walmart for $2.39 a pound. Blech


I have had too many scary incidences with walmart meat. I will never buy meat there again. I'll gladly pay another buck or two to avoid the emergency room!


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## cowboyhermit

LincTex said:


> My wife is too short to appreciate that idea!
> 
> Well, if I get 2000 lbs I would need two queen beds... with small ladders
> 
> 2K = ~36 bushels, which is ~45 cubic feet.
> 
> It would be great to have a small hopper-bottom grain bin for that.


A little hopper is great, sometimes you can find them really cheap too. Another option would be bulk bags, not weatherproof of course but you could build a decent holder/dispenser and then not have to transfer anything.

Something alon the lines of this, but a bit more streamlined;









Of course you can always just scoop it out by hand.

I have loaded bags for people who need a "little" grain and it isn't much of a hassle if you have forks on the loader, or they hold the bag open in the back of the truck while* I *shut the auger off Should be able to find it close to the /bushel price if it isn't too much hassle.


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## goshengirl

Davarm said:


> About 1000 pounds(give or take) will fit into around 30-5 gallon buckets and those 30-5 gallon will exactly fit under a queen sized bed.
> 
> The bed winds up sitting about 6-8 inches higher than when its on a regular frame but thats not too hard to get used to!


I love that you know this.


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## mojo4

ZoomZoom said:


> Further details.
> It was last fall when I bought. Corn was a little over $5/bushel.
> In the bags (no deer picture ), on a pallet, plastic wrapped, taxes and ready to slide into my truck was $6.12/50# bag.
> 
> I then drove it home which is in the next State. From there, it left to another State as a Christmas gift for my Stepmom (so it was carried a couple hundred miles in my truck). The bags were put on her back porch which is enclosed. She can then break open a bag and feed it out.
> 
> I really couldn't give her a truck-load not bagged, especially as a Christmas present due to storage of bulk and handling.
> 
> I did it because I didn't like her going to some chain store (TSC, Agway...) and paying $15+ for the same size bag and bring home a couple at a time.
> 
> She said it was the best Christmas present she's received in a long time. That makes it well worth the $120 I spent.
> 
> A view out her window.


Please tell me she hunts those tasty corn fed critters!


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## Dakine

valannb22 said:


> The store I usually buy my meat at had 80% hamburger for almost $5 a pound last weekend. I ended up buying the prepackaged tube of hamburger from Walmart for $2.39 a pound. Blech


I am at a complete loss... I bought 6 lb packages of 88% at Costco last weekend same ~$20 per package, I bought a 2lb chub of 93% at the grocery store I just about always shop at, or the same price that has been... for... ages!!! it was $9.96 or something like that.

I have no idea why 80% would be so much higher for you unless they are deathly afraid of scaring the living crap out of the liberal voting base here in CA... 54 electoral votes decided by one-issue voters who believe green is good and the .gov never lies...

If it costs that much for you than someone must be subsidizing it here... or maybe you are! To put an even finer point on it, I bought a pot roast that I was going to cook in the solar oven but the forecast changed, now I'm looking at Sunday or Monday... and this isn't ground beef, this is a very nice looking roast, and it was $4.69 per lb!


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