MASCOT, Tenn. (WATE) — If you feel like your recent trip to the grocery store is breaking the bank, it may be because beef prices are on the rise.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, beef and veal prices are up about 10% compared to last year, and local cattle farmers say they don’t expect them to drop anytime soon.
John Niceley has been a rancher at Strong Stock Farm in Mascot for over 40 years. He said nearly everything in the cattle industry has gone up in price.
“We’re in a place where we’re kind of getting blamed for high prices when everything’s going up,” he said.
Between the cost of cattle, labor, and machines he said it has become expensive to operate. With most ranchers his age getting out of the business, he also said less are looking to opt-in.
“Nobody wants to do this kind of work,” Niceley said. “I mean, the kind of work that we do, the average kid coming out of the university is not going to do that.”
When he got into this business in 1970, he said the cost of cattle was about ten times cheaper than it is today. But when it comes to the price of beef now, he said it’s also just a simple supply and demand issue.
“Well, I’ve seen bull prices go from $800 to $1,000 to $3,500 to $7,000 to $10,000,” said Niceley.
According to the USDA the US cattle heard has been shrinking. The US cattle herd as of January 1 was 86.7 million cattle head, the lowest point since 1951.
“But over the years, the cattle cow-calf producer has kind of been beat down and not had a lot of profit, I mean it’s been a rough business to be in,” said Niceley.
But at the end of the day he said those who do end up choosing this line of work aren’t doing it for the money.
“I wish that we could find a way to produce beef cheap enough for everybody to afford it. But we’re going to have to pay more for hamburger than we used to and I’m thinking it’s going to be around for a while,” he said.
The USDA also predicts prices aren’t dropping soon either due to a high demand and short supply, but Niceley said shopping local will give you better quality for the price you are paying.