Several factors cause beef prices to increase
The Indiana Beef and Cattle Association said prices are 10% - 15% higher for beef over the past two years. The Indiana Beef Cattle Association has reported that beef prices have risen by 10% to 15% over the past two years. The association's executive vice president, Brian Shuter, attributed these increases to a variety of factors, including large numbers of people leaving farming. Shuter also noted that a fire in Texas and an increase in the cost of feed were also contributing to the price increase. The American Farm Bureau Federation predicts that beef costs could continue to rise until 2024. Despite these increases, Shuter stressed that farmers still have to make a profit to produce food.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Adam Pinsker in
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Indiana Beef Cattle Association said prices are 10% – 15% higher for beef over the past two years.
Brian Shuter, executive vice president of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association, said there are a variety of factors causing the increase, including a large amount of people getting out of the farming business.
“There have been huge droughts out west that have really cut into supplies out there,” said Shuter. “We have seen a lot of liquidation of the cowherd out in the western states.”
Shuter said a fire in Texas and an increase in the cost of feed are also contributing to the price increase. At the same time, consumer demand for beef products has not cooled off.
“Trucking is expensive,” said Shuter. “All of the input costs that go into raising a bushel of corn have gone up. Fertilizer costs our producers are seeing have sometimes quadrupled.”
The American Farm Bureau Federation says beef costs could continue to rise well into 2024, and those costs are also being passed along to customers who dine out.
Shuter is a fourth generation farmer. Shuter and other farmers enjoy what they do, but like any business, if they don’t make a profit, they can’t pay their bills.
“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.”
Prices are also going up because farmers are selling off their heifer cows to make a profit, rather than hanging on to them for breeding purposes.