Livestock Research Analysis

Beef prices have skyrocketed recently due to a lot of reasons. One reason is from the drought in 2011 that hit the Midwest all the way through Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico. “Our cattle numbers dropped drastically in about a 2-3 year period, and it really accelerated in 2011." This quote is from Billy Easter, the owner of Wichita Livestock Sales. It highlights the rise of beef prices from a livestock perspective itself. Local restaurants all across the Midwest have had to increase the prices of all their beef products. “A manager we spoke with at McBride's Land and Cattle says the prices on their menu are now $2 to $3 more. A 10-ounce filet will now cost you $22.50.” This is another example that shows how much local business owners have been affected by the price rise. Meat prices does not just affect the livestock business owners but it affects everyone that has anything to do with the industry. This is just one of many reasons that the beef prices have recently increased. Another main reason that beef prices have increased is because of the rapid increase in the cost of feed. The cost of corn was expensive because of the need to make gasoline-alternative, Ethanol. Corn is fermented to be used in the making of the alternative gasoline. This is why the price of corn, to use for feed, has increased, causing sort of a domino effect and making it harder for farmers to feed their livestock with corn based feed. A farmer would have to make the choice to keep buying corn feed and feeding his livestock. Of course the farmer has to purchase it but he also has to make a decent profit himself . He has had to pay more for the feed so now he has to charge more for his meat that he sells. This affected farmers way more than you think it did. Some farmers even have had to market their cows, even if the cows were very productive cows that have produced many calves. That goes to show how bad farmers are affected by the increase of corn prices. They would not even be able to operate their livestock business if they did not find ways to bring money back to the business and make a profit. These are just a few reasons of why the livestock industry beef prices have recently increased.

This issue is currently a National issue but it can easily Internationally affected by the increase if prices do not drop soon. The rise of beef prices will not just affect America, but it will affect