Beef prices climb to new high

Source: Detroit Free Press WASHINGTON - Retail beef prices are soaring - reaching a record $3.21 a pound for USDA-choice cuts - because of a hard Plains winter that has been tough on cattle.

Prices are likely to dip by the summer but then rebound because of tight cattle supplies. Producers are starting to rebuild herds that they thinned because of drought and low prices in the late 1990s.

This winter has been so cold and damp that cattle are taking several months longer than usual to fatten up. In bad weather, cattle in feedlots don’t eat as much and use up energy staying warm.

“We have basically had one of the harshest winters that we have seen in a very long time,” said Chuck Levitt, a meat analyst with Chicago-based Alaron Trading Corp. “The last time we had a winter this severe across the major cattle feeding areas was in 1993.”

The previous record for retail prices was in September, at $3.13 a pound, according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. In the late 1990s, prices were averaging about $2.80.

“We’ve definitely seen the beef prices go up, big time,” said Rickey Rigueroa, executive chef of Atlanta’s Chops Steakhouse.

Americans have rediscovered a taste for beef at the same time that U.S. meat exports are up and many producers have been sending all of their calves to slaughter, rather than holding females back for breeding.

Beef consumption in the United States reached 99.5 pounds per person last year, up from 98.7 pounds per person the year before and 95.6 pounds in 1997.

Experts say it’s too early to assess the impact on U.S. prices and supplies from outbreaks of mad-cow and foot-and-mouth diseases in Europe. Beef sales plunged in the European Union after an upsurge of mad-cow cases in many countries last year.
Source: Detroit Free Press