{"id":1040,"date":"2025-09-03T16:07:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T16:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/?p=1040"},"modified":"2025-09-04T14:21:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T14:21:26","slug":"wheres-the-beef-ceiling-demand-rising-even-at-record-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/03\/wheres-the-beef-ceiling-demand-rising-even-at-record-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"Where\u2019s the beef ceiling? Demand rising even at record prices"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Brooks Johnson, The Minnesota Star Tribune<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Typically, when some product becomes too expensive, people buy less of it.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related left\">\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\" data-curated-ids=\"\" data-relation-type=\"automatic-primary-section\">Related Articles<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/09\/02\/mcdonalds-price-cuts-coming\/\" title=\"Coming price cuts at McDonald\u2019s may signal a broader fast food price war\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tComing price cuts at McDonald\u2019s may signal a broader fast food price war\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/08\/26\/how-to-limit-tariffs-charges\/\" title=\"What shoppers can do to limit charges once the US ends a tariff exemption for goods under $800\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tWhat shoppers can do to limit charges once the US ends a tariff exemption for goods under $800\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/08\/26\/tariffs-end-of-de-minimis\/\" title=\"Duty-free no more: Parcels worth under $800 no longer qualify for a US tariff exemption\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tDuty-free no more: Parcels worth under $800 no longer qualify for a US tariff exemption\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/08\/25\/health-care-costs-2026\/\" title=\"Expect health insurance prices to rise next year, brokers and experts say\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tExpect health insurance prices to rise next year, brokers and experts say\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/08\/22\/powell-signals-interest-rate-cut\/\" title=\"Powell signals Fed may cut rates soon even as inflation risks remain\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tPowell signals Fed may cut rates soon even as inflation risks remain\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Not so with beef. Despite record high prices for the red meat \u2014 thanks to a record low number of cattle raised for slaughter \u2014 demand for the fresh protein keeps rising.<\/p>\n<p>Folks are more interested in a Jucy Lucy than following the law of supply and demand, it seems.<\/p>\n<p>A recent report from CoBank said the \u201cremarkably steady allure of beef, even at current prices\u201d stems from \u201cheightened interest in dietary protein, changing health perceptions surrounding beef and the availability of restaurant-quality beef at retail grocery stores.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ag-lending cooperative found beef demand is at the highest level this century even as average fresh beef prices across all cuts have hit a record $8.90 per pound nationally, 9% above prices last summer.<\/p>\n<p>Brian Earnest, CoBank\u2019s lead animal protein economist, wrote budget-conscious grocery shoppers are looking for cheaper cuts or more ground beef instead of the more spendy steaks. But that helped push ground beef prices to a record of $6.25 per pound in July.<\/p>\n<p>A pound of ground ran around $3.80 before the pandemic, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis consumer pressure on ground beef supply has contributed to tighter availability and interest from other top-producing nations,\u201d Earnest wrote.<\/p>\n<p>On the demand side, it\u2019s similar to the high <a href=\"https:\/\/www.startribune.com\/egg-price-rise-high-avoid-find-cheap-substitute-shop-alternative-grocery\/601219839\">egg prices<\/a> conundrum: If consumers bought fewer cartons when eggs were hitting records this spring, prices might have come down faster.<\/p>\n<p>But the inelasticity \u2014 a term for the willingness of consumers to accept price increases for goods they consider necessities \u2014 means there might be more records set for beef prices in the months and years to come.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile larger macroeconomic shifts could influence purchasing behavior in the future, so far, consumers have shown little appetite for sacrificing beef,\u201d according to CoBank.<\/p>\n<p>On the supply side, the U.S. beef herd is at a 75-year low, and slaughter rates are dropping. Imports, especially from Brazil, are incurring higher tariffs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost observers suggest the nation\u2019s cattle supply will remain strained through at least 2026 and likely through 2027,\u201d CoBank\u2019s report found. \u201cThat means retail beef prices will remain elevated for the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One winner in all this: Ranchers. Drought and poor forage conditions in some areas made for a few lean years, but they\u2019re now lassoing a good bounty for their bovines.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a92025 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Brooks Johnson, The Minnesota Star Tribune Typically, when some product becomes too expensive, people buy less of it. Related Articles Coming price cuts at McDonald\u2019s may signal a broader fast food price war What shoppers can do to limit charges once the US ends a tariff exemption for goods under $800 Duty-free no more:&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1041,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040\/revisions\/1041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}