Latest news with #ZBarCattleCompany
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beef prices reach record high - up almost 50% in five years
Beef prices had soared to a record high in April - up almost 50 percent from five years ago. While Americans are eating more protein than ever, farmers are hiking up the price of their beef as they struggle to raise cattle. According to government statistics, the average cost of one pound of ground beef reached $5.80 in April — a new record for the meat industry and an almost 50 percent price increase in five years. Stephen Kirkland, owner of the Texas-based Z Bar Cattle Company, told CBS News that he could buy a steer for roughly $1,500 a year ago. Steers are young male cattle raised for beef. Kirkland said the price of a steer has now spiked to almost $2,400. He explained all the extra costs of raising cattle: "$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 his company has tried to absorb the cost increases at his two butcher shops. 'But as cattle prices increase, we're left with no other choice,' he said, adding, "If we want to stay profitable, we want to stay in business at all, you've got to go up on your price.' One Texan shopper, Darlowe Torkelson, who was buying a single sirloin steak and one potato for him and his wife, told CBS News that he hasn't found his upper limit of what he's willing to spend on certain groceries. But he said, 'I'd like to see it back down.' Despite high prices, more Americans are eating protein. The New York Times reported earlier this month that 'meat is back.' The Times cited a report from the Food Industry Association and the Meat Institute released in March stating that meat sales, which included beef, hit a record high of $104.6 billion in 2024. Another report that the sustainable food company Cargill issued in April, which was also cited by the Times, stated that 61 percent of Americans increased the amount of protein they ate last year compared to 48 percent who upped their protein intake in 2019.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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
CBS News
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
U.S. beef prices reach record highs as cattle industry struggles to keep costs down
Beef prices at all-time highs, up nearly 50% from 5 years ago 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."
