Here is an article that actually tries to explain WHY beef prices are high right now instead of just quoting ranchers who are pissed off that Trump is taking steps to bring those prices down.
And no, the price increases aren't due to tariffs. As the
Associated Press reported, one of the issues is America's shrinking cattle supply, which has been decreasing for the past twenty years. It noted that as of the start of 2025, the U.S. had 86.7 million cattle and calves, the lowest number
since 1951.
And that's not all. As Food & Wine
reported in late 2024, a flesh-eating parasite called the New World screwworm (NWS) was found in cattle in Mexico and is spreading north. This led the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to restrict the "importation of animal commodities originating from or transiting Mexico, effective immediately and pending further information from Mexican veterinary authorities on the size and scope of the infestation." And, as we predicted, this resulted in a significant drop in cattle imported into the United States, which already has far fewer cattle than in years past.
“It happened overnight, and in an environment where we already have tight supplies, we’re going to end up in a spot where we’re going to have tighter supplies," Charley Martinez from the University of Tennessee shared with Brownfield Ag News at the time. “You have feed lot operators that are needing cattle now, and they no longer have a supplier, and they’re going to have to go out to the sale barns and go look for cattle … Well, that’s actually going to cause a short-run demand increase, and as demand increases, prices increase.”
Then, there's climate change. The AP noted that a three-year drought, which started in 2020, dried out many pastures, leading to higher feed prices and forcing cattle ranchers to slaughter more female cattle to meet beef demand, which in turn reduced their herd sizes in subsequent years.
“For them, the balance is, ‘Do I sell that animal now and take this record high check?’ Or do I keep her to realize her returns over her productive life when she’s having calves?” David Anderson, a livestock economist at Texas A&M, told the AP. “And so it’s this balancing act, and so far the side that’s been winning is to sell her and get the check.”
Beef prices are up more than 8% since January, hitting $9.26 a pound in July. And it’s not just a summer surge — America’s cattle supply is at its lowest since 1951. Toss in droughts, rising feed costs, and fewer imports, and it’s no wonder your grill bill spiked.
www.foodandwine.com
Now...I sympathize with US ranchers, but the fact is they have
NOT been the ones meeting the US demand for beef for years. Other countries have been doing that. US ranchers have been cashing in with the higher prices and the US consumers have been paying for it.
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