Cost of beef lately??!!

greenautumn17

What the heck is going on? Around here in NC, I cannot find a good cut of beef for less than $6 a pound! Earlier this year I was stocking up at between $3-4 a pound, but my stockpile is gone.
And why the heck do the butchers slice the steaks so freaking thin? I want at least an inch thick! Those thin ones cook too fast and get too well done.
So what happened? Why are prices going up? No, really, was there some kind of cattle blight?
(We used to joke that the cows or chickens went on strike when milk or egg prices rose!)

pootle1972

Wow I spend 15-20 gbp a kilo for good steak..... damn you uk.

KenSmith108

Lately the only beef we get is on manager special.

OR

gaelicstorm26

Around here finding beef for $3-4 a pound just isn't happening unless the store is really marking it down because the expiration date is the day you are buying the meat.

Most of the meat we buy (beef) is between $5-9/lb and that isn't anything fancy or special. It almost isn't worth buying better cuts and making them myself because buying filet mignon is over $13/lb and I can get a nice one, cooked the way I like it, at the local steakhouse for $19.

Kitnthecat

I usually buy 1/2 cow each year, but we knew in the spring that beef prices would be going up in Canada, so I only ordered 1/4 cow this year. I order my whole year's worth of meat at one time, so plan pretty carefully based on what we can afford. I did order extra ground beef and pork to make sure we would have enough meat. The chicken and pork did not see much if any increase in price. Could it be the cost of the feed ?

ambergem1969

High feed prices (so farmers were culling herds in the spring) plus cost of living increases are the reason for higher beef and pork prices (at least in Canada). I think the drought is having an effect also.

I am grateful that I eat moderate protein though...a little bit of beef goes further than it used to.

Still, I miss the days when a flank steak was a cheap cut!

Keto_T

We're eating a lot pork, chicken, and salmon these days.

kbhmmom

^^^^^^^This, plus other factors. We are small beef producers (~75 head of purebred and registered Angus mama cows).

It's supply and demand, for the most part. Due to the droughts in various spots of the U.S. in years past, producers were selling down herds which creates low feeder numbers in the future. That drives up prices at the sale barns, so producers want to retain females for breeding to build up their herds for future production, if they can afford it. It takes us 2 years before we see a calf from every female we retain and then roughly 7-9 months before we can sell that calf. That time frame varies on market demands, too. In our area, feed prices haven't been awful, but there's also fuel prices, fertilizer prices, equipment prices (tractor prices have skyrocketed due to new EPA emissions regulations) - just to name a few - which all have an effect on our bottom line.

sweetteadrinker2

In ca the drought has a large roll. Herds that were maintaining and breeding on grassy hills suddenly had no grass. So ranchers Sold off what they couldn't afford to feed and water. It'll be awhile before we see those herds come back, if they don't change over to almonds.

carlsoda

We just don't eat a lot of beef anymore. I do however buy frozen ground beef and sirloin beef patties from Costco. At least those are affordable. Pork has gone up too and turkey is through the roof. Chicken hasn't changed in price (yet)!

Kitnthecat

Looking for alternate sources of meat can also help stretch the budget, especially if you know someone who hunts. I've got black bear meat in my soup pot right now, and it costed me nothing in terms of money. I traded 6 jars of my homemade pickles, some homemade soap, and some kitchen towels I made for 2 bear roasts, bear ribs and lots of soup bones.....maybe cost me $10 altogether for materials.

krazyforyou

I know its crazy. Paid 13.00 for a chuck roast that should have been 5.00 bucks.

nicintime

I have noticed the price jump over the last few years.

Costco steak prices are my canary in the coal mine.

Now I watch sales and we're getting ready to buy a quarter or half grass and hay fed beef from a friend.

KnitOrMiss

I watch the sales. Most places have stores that run ten pound meat sales and things of this nature. This week I got pork steaks at $1.39/pound, bone in. I got a beef rump roast for $3.99/pounds, and ground beef (81/19) for $2.99/pound. I'm also going back to the store to get a pork butt roast for $1.50/pound later this week...

And regular prices on certain cuts is $7-$20 per pound, so I just have to buy in bulk and have them portion it or portion it when I get home. The pork was 4 pounds, I think, the rump roast was almost 6 pounds, the ground beef was 10 pounds, and the pork butt roast is around 8 pounds, I think.

That should easily feed us all of this week and next, I think...

EDITED TO ADD: It has to be something really special for me to even consider paying over $5/pound for anything... And I do grab "about to expire" stuff regularly and freeze it as soon as I get home when not cooking it that night.

Keto_T

A lot of times if you order a family pack of something the butcher will cut it for you for no extra cost. Once in a blue moon we'll get a whole ribeye from Sam's and get it cut into steaks. We still have to separate the portions at home but at least we dont have to cut it.

We got a whole beef brisket last week for $2.98/lb. Hubby was complaining that it was too big but the smaller cuts were ~$5.98/lb....so their wasn't that much total price difference between a a whole one and a smaller cut. We've been eating brisket for lunch and dinner for the past several days.

KarlaYP

I see increases in prices on just about everything. It is ridiculous trying to stretch the food budget these days. It's buying less and less!