Beef prices going up????

[KDM]

Just read that Tyson is closing some massive plants in Nebraska and Texas. Yikes!! I guess build back better will now be increase imports immediately. $10 a lb ground beer by spring? Lord in heaven I hope not, but I can sure see it being possible. Stay warm out there fellas.

 

[Allen]

Just read that Tyson is closing some massive plants in Nebraska and Texas. Yikes!! I guess build back better will now be increase imports immediately. $10 a lb ground beer by spring? Lord in heaven I hope not, but I can sure see it being possible. Stay warm out there fellas.

That's quite a bit more than I currently pay for a pounder of beer.

 

[Walleye_Chaser]

It's already over $9/lb in little Minneapolis. $10 will hit for sure it seems. Glad I have venison!

 

[KDM]

The more I read, it mentioned that this is 5% of the beef processing. The issue is the geography. The proposed plant closure is in Nebraska which would greatly affect that area as there is no other facility close enough to moderate the transportation costs of bringing the cattle to another facility. We had 90/10 ground beef at the grocery store here in VC be 8.99 a lb. The 80/20 was 5.99 a lb at the same time. It's not there now, but it was that price within the last year. My neighbor just sold steers for 3500 each at 1000 lbs give or take. 3.50 a lb live weight with a 50 % ish return on meat is a lot of salad for beef. It just made me think a bit on future beef prices.

 

[tikkalover]

I heard they were closing because live cattle numbers are low

I say they are closing some down to keep the price of beef up.

 

[Davy Crockett]

Did gov. ever loosen the belt of farmers direct marketing ? Trim some fat from USDA and loan it to farmers to sell direct and make it feasible
for them and they will be in a reputation contest.

 

[NDbowman]

I heard they were closing because live cattle numbers are low

I say they are closing some down to keep the price of beef up.

You hit it right on the head. They are closing that plant and reducing slaughter to drive up the prices of boxed beef. All summer the packers would reduce slaughter whenever they claimed they were losing money. They did this to drive up the price of boxed beef to put themselves back in the money.
Right now the feeder cattle futures have dropped $75 in a little over a month, mostly due to fear from Trump saying he is going to take Argentina beef, reopen the mexican border to live cattle imports, and now lowering the tariff against Brazil to allow them to bring in more beef. The news of the Tyson plant closing brought limit down lows to the feeder calf futures and a sharp dip in the live cattle futures. Trumps plan was to lower the price of beef for the consumer. That is all backfiring as ranchers and feedlots are the ones that have to take less for their product while the packers continue to drive up the price of boxed beef so they make a profit. The price of boxed beef determines what you as the consumer pays at the grocery store and restaurants.
As a rancher the cash price at the sale barns have softened up some due to the drop in futures price but it hasn't been as hard. We'll still make good money but it is frustrating that they have to drop our prices right now before we all sell this years calves.

 

[Fester]

You hit it right on the head. They are closing that plant and reducing slaughter to drive up the prices of boxed beef. All summer the packers would reduce slaughter whenever they claimed they were losing money. They did this to drive up the price of boxed beef to put themselves back in the money.
Right now the feeder cattle futures have dropped $75 in a little over a month, mostly due to fear from Trump saying he is going to take Argentina beef, reopen the mexican border to live cattle imports, and now lowering the tariff against Brazil to allow them to bring in more beef. The news of the Tyson plant closing brought limit down lows to the feeder calf futures and a sharp dip in the live cattle futures. Trumps plan was to lower the price of beef for the consumer. That is all backfiring as ranchers and feedlots are the ones that have to take less for their product while the packers continue to drive up the price of boxed beef so they make a profit. The price of boxed beef determines what you as the consumer pays at the grocery store and restaurants.
As a rancher the cash price at the sale barns have softened up some due to the drop in futures price but it hasn't been as hard. We'll still make good money but it is frustrating that they have to drop our prices right now before we all sell this years calves.

So is this all basically caused from the beef packers?

 

[Traxion]

Tyson claimed they lost 500 million on their beef business last year and this is the answer. NDbowman summed it up well. Those who sold a month ago are the lucky ones. Those who are selling now are still better off than a year ago but it’s still a kick in the nuts.

I buy direct from a rancher and it’s the best beef and price I can find. Go local/direct if you can.

 

[NDSportsman]

Do yourself a favor and find a local rancher who sells beef locally. Bought a quarter this fall for right around $8/# processed. Got steaks, roasts and burger. Wish I would have done a half.

 

[Pheasant 54]

They definitely play a big part in it . Plus there are less cattle than there used another problem is Argentina owns 50% of the packing facilities in the US

 

[Pheasant 54]

Do yourself a favor and find a local rancher who sells beef locally. Bought a quarter this fall for right around $8/# processed. Got steaks, roasts and burger. Wish I would have done a half.

I am told the processing is out of control also , how much per pound was that

 

[Fritz the Cat]

They definitely play a big part in it . Plus there are less cattle than there used another problem is Argentina owns 50% of the packing facilities in the US

Not Argentina. JBS packers are from Brazil.

These high beef prices have helped me out. Elk cows hanging are now $1500 a piece.

 

[Traxion]

I am told the processing is out of control also , how much per pound was that

My processing on a half is cheap in my mind. Less than $400.

 

[Pheasant 54]

Not Argentina. JBS packers are from Brazil.

These high beef prices have helped me out. Elk cows hanging are now $1500 a piece.

correct it is Brazil

 

[Davy Crockett]

With these grocery prices like this I might move out on the ice with a sack of potatoes, some bait and a full tackle box. Wife and I could live on fish and potatoes.

 

[tikkalover]

While moose and deer hunting, I seen a shit ton of cattle in pastures and harvested fields.

I know, I hunted just a small piece of the United States, but I still seen a lot compared to other years.

 

[Davy Crockett]

As of January 1, 2025, there were 1.68 million total cattle and calves in North Dakota, with 880,000 beef cows and 10,000 milk cows. The total inventory of all cattle and calves was up 1% from the previous year.



As of July 1, 2024, North Dakota's population is estimated to be 796,568. This is a record high and represents a significant increase of 12,642 residents since the 2023 estimate.


We should and could be golden with most of our resource in ND but we are being bought out and sold out.

 

[Catfishermen4201]

Tariffs tariffs tariffs have always been passed down to the consumer. It's not about the US supply as we export most of our beef and most of our beef we get in the US is imported, that's a fact. This is just about anything the US has IE oil, lumber, grain, precious metals...all exported to countries that can utilize these materials to build products at a cheaper price and then the US imports the final result. So when a tariff is put into effect, the manufacturer pays the price and thus is passed down to the consumer. Hope y'all getting ready to be poor because it is a trickle down effect that takes months but beef isn't the only thing. Since we export less grain than we import due to these tariffs there will soon be an insolvent market for farmers. Isn't Trump just awesome, we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg on this, we are all going to be screwed financially soon!

 

[Catfishermen4201]

Tariffs tariffs tariffs have always been passed down to the consumer. It's not about the US supply as we export most of our beef and most of our beef we get in the US is imported, that's a fact. This is just about anything the US has IE oil, lumber, grain, precious metals...all exported to countries that can utilize these materials to build products at a cheaper price and then the US imports the final result. So when a tariff is put into effect, the manufacturer pays the price and thus is passed down to the consumer. Hope y'all getting ready to be poor because it is a trickle down effect that takes months but beef isn't the only thing. Since we export less grain than we import due to these tariffs there will soon be an insolvent market for farmers. Isn't Trump just awesome, we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg on this, we are all going to be screwed financially soon!

And, since there was a 40% tariff on beef from Brazil, one of the US's go to for imports that is why prices are soaring...5 days ago Trump realized this and cut the tariff to 0...tariffs don't work!