Beef prices reach record highs as cattle industry struggles with costs
Fort Worth, Texas — The dinner shopping list for Darlowe Torkelson and his wife was short. At today's prices, it consisted of just one sirloin steak and one potato.
Torkelson of Argyle, Texas, told CBS News his family doesn't yet know the upper limit of what they are willing to pay for certain groceries.
"I haven't found it, I'd like to see it back down," Torkelson said.
The average cost of one pound of ground beef reached a record-high of $5.80 in April, according to numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up nearly 50% from five years ago.
"We are very, very conscious of how high the prices are in the meat case," said rancher Stephen Kirkland, owner of the Z Bar Cattle Company.
Kirkland said he has been trying to absorb the price increases at the two butcher shops he owns near Fort Worth, Texas.
Kirkland says that a year ago, he could buy cattle for about $1,500 per steer. Now, he says the price has risen to nearly $2,400.
"$2,400 for one steer going into the feed yard, and then feed and everything else, transportation, everything else that gets involved in that," Kirkland said of the cost.
Raising those steers also comes at a higher cost, with prices going up for feed, land and financing. Those cost increases have contributed to U.S. cattle herds falling to their lowest numbers in more than 70 years, according to USDA data.
"We've had a lot of drought the past couple of years, and so it's been harder and harder to keep enough grass to feed the cows," said rancher Kim Radaker Bays, who raises Herefords and Texas Longhorns at Twin Canyons Ranch south of Fort Worth.
She has to weigh the cost to keep the herd fed and healthy against the price they will command at market.
She says that if a cow is non-pregnant, or "open" — meaning it's not carrying a calf and growing the herd — it's a better financial decision at today's prices for Bays to sell it.
"It just costs too much to feed them if you don't get a calf every year," Bays explains.
With supplies tightening, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that beef prices will rise throughout 2025.
Kirkland says he won't speculate on when the price of beef will be too high for consumers.
"But as cattle prices increase, we're left with no other choice," Kirkland said. "If we want to stay profitable, we want to stay in business at all, you've got to go up on your price."
Trump confronts South African president during White House meeting, repeats genocide claims
Trump takes questions during meeting with South African president
Rubio, Jayapal have fiery exchange about Afrikaner refugee's antisemitic tweet, student visas
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Gizmodo
21 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD Hits All-Time New Low Price, Backed by 4.6-Stars and Nearly 80K Reviews
Keeping your most important files safe can be a bit of a hassle if you have multiple computers and multiple hard drives. Plus, traditional hard drives can be slow, bulky, and vulnerable to bumps and drops. Not exactly the kind of risks anyone wants to take when it comes to managing data. That's where solid-state drives (SSDs), especially those like this SanDisk portable SSD, come in. And if you don't already have one, it might be time that you changed that, especially since you can save some cash right now. See at Amazon Right now, you can check out Amazon to get the SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD for just $145, down from its usual price of $210. That's $65 off and a discount of 31%. Super storage at an even better price This hard drive is perfect for anyone on the go or those who like to make sure they've got all their important files with them at all times. That's because it's fast and reliable. It's compact enough to slip into your pocket, and its rubberized exterior gives it a grip-friendly, shock-resistant finish that doesn't feel delicate. According to SanDisk, it's also drop-rated up to three meters and boasts an IP65 rating for water and dust resistance. In other words, this drive can take a licking and keep on ticking. It has up to 1,050MB/s read and 1,000MB/s write speeds, so you get near-instant file transfers, assuming your device supports USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 or better. That makes it perfect for moving large 4K videos, photo libraries, or other large to enormous files without waiting around. And because it's bus-powered, you won't need to fumble with external power cords or bulky adapters. You can just plug it in and let it ride. It's compatible with Windows, macOS, and other devices, and has a five-year limited warranty. For many, it's the kind of tool that just becomes essential over time. You might start using it for work, then travel, then everyday backups, and suddenly you're wondering how you ever managed without it. And for good reason. It's super handy to have around! Since you can get it for under $200 right now, you definitely should. Don't wait around, though, as it will likely go out of stock. Whether you're upgrading your current setup or investing in better protection for your digital files, this is a smart move that could pay off the next time you need fast, reliable storage. Even if it's just a bunch of pictures of you and your dog. See at Amazon


TechCrunch
23 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
Report: Meta taps Scale AI's Alexandr Wang to join new ‘superintelligence' lab
In Brief Meta plans to unveil a new AI research lab dedicated to 'superintelligence' as the company works to compete in the AI race, according to several reports. Meta has tapped Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang to join the new lab, The New York Times reports. Meta has been in talks to invest billions into Scale AI as part of a deal that would bring Scale AI employees to Meta. Meta has also been poaching lead researchers from OpenAI and Google, per the Times. The new lab comes as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg grows frustrated with his company's AI shortfalls. Bloomberg reports he has been meeting with AI researchers and engineers at his homes in Lake Tahoe and Palo Alto to personally recruit a team of around 50 people, including a new head of AI research. Sources told Bloomberg that Zuckerberg believes Meta can and should outpace other tech companies gunning to achieve AGI, the still-undefined idea that AI systems could exceed human performance in many tasks. Meta AI last month reached 1 billion monthly active users.


Fast Company
23 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Flagstar Bank just closed dozens of branches in 5 states. See full the list of locations that shuttered in May
This year has not been kind to retailers in terms of store closures. But brick-and-mortar shops are not the only retail category that has experienced a decline in 2025. Banks are closing retail locations, too. One of America's largest regional banks, Flagstar, closed 24 branch locations on May 30. The closures come after the bank's parent company, Flagstar Financial, announced in January that it would be shuttering 60 branches this year. Here's what you need to know about the latest Flagstar branch closures. What's happened? On May 30, Flagstar shut 24 bank branches for good, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which is an independent bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The OCC regulates national banks in the United States. In its weekly bulletin for the period from May 25 to May 30, 2025, the OCC says that 24 Flagstar Bank branches were closed. However, the closures did not come as a surprise, as the company announced in January that it would shutter 60 branches. As Banking Dive previously reported, Flagstar Financial announced it would close the locations in an effort to consolidate its retail footprint and cut $600 million in operating costs from its balance sheet by the end of the year. Running physical locations incurs significant operating costs, and as more people turn to online banking first and try to avoid visiting branches if possible, those branches are used less, leading to a reduced return on investment for banks. Which Flagstar Bank branches have closed? According to the OCC, 24 Flagstar Bank branches closed on May 30. The branch closures impact locations in five states: Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. New York saw the most Flagstar Bank branches close in this round, with nine locations shutting down. Michigan and New Jersey saw six locations each shutter. Indiana saw two close and Ohio one. Here are the locations of the closed branches in each state. Indiana 5770 COVENTRY LANE FORT WAYNE IN 2926 MISHAWAKA AVENUE SOUTH BEND IN Michigan 210 WEST HURON STREET ANN ARBOR MI 29049 JOY ROAD WESTLAND MI 914 CHARLEVOIX DRIVE GRAND LEDGE MI 4675 32ND AVENUE HUDSONVILLE MI 5151 CORPORATE DRIVE TROY MI 500 WOODWARD AVENUE, Detroit, MI New Jersey 949 BROADWAY BAYONNE NJ 142 BROAD STREET ELIZABETH NJ 36 FERRY STREET NEWARK NJ 198 JEFFERSON STREET NEWARK NJ 2624 MORRIS AVENUE UNION NJ 133 S. LIVINGSTON AVENUE LIVINGSTON NJ New York 30TH AVENUE, ASTORIA, NY 625 ATLANTIC AVENUE BROOKLYN NY 102 DUFFY AVENUE HICKSVILLE NY 1608 KINGS HIGHWAY HOMECREST (BKLYN) NY 66-77 FRESH POND ROAD RIDGEWOOD NY 65-30 KISSENA BLVD. FLUSHING NY 509 OLD COUNTRY ROAD PLAINVIEW NY 194-02 NORTHERN BOULEVARD FLUSHING NY 100 JERICHO QUADRANGLE JERICHO NY Ohio ONE NORTH HAWKINS AVE. AKRON OH Flagstar's stock price soars since closure announcement While many people prefer the ease and convenience of online banking, closures of physical bank branches can still have a negative impact on communities and certain groups of individuals. This is particularly true for older individuals who may not be as adept at using the internet or app-based banking, or who may simply prefer to visit a physical branch location to discuss their banking needs with a representative. Still, financial companies looking to cut costs often turn to branch closures as the quickest way to do so (that, and employee layoffs). And investors in those banks generally react favorably to those types of moves. Indeed, since Flagstar announced in January that it would close 60 branches, the company's stock price (NYSE: FLG) has soared. At the start of the year, FLG stock was trading in the $9 range. But by the end of January, after the company announced the branch closures, FLG stock jumped to nearly $12 per share. Year-to-date, FLG stock is currently up over 27% as of the time of this writing. On April 25, Flagstar Financial announced its Q1 2025 earnings, in which the company revealed that its operating expenses declined 22% year-over-year. The company says that as of March 31, Flagstar Bank held $97.6 billion in total assets, $73.9 billion in total deposits, and operated approximately 400 locations. Its online branch locator tool shows that as of today, there are 363 Flagstar Bank locations in the United States.