Regulations and economic factors drive beef prices up as small farms struggle.
Beef prices skyrocketed to a new record high this Memorial Day weekend as industry experts warn costs could continue to rise even higher if current regulatory and economic conditions remain unchanged.
Recently released data shows that “all fresh beef retail value,” a composite value based on choice beef, other beef, and hamburger retail prices, shot up to $794.90 in April, according to the Economic Research Council, the highest price on record.
Further, the price of uncooked ground beef, beef roasts, beef steaks, and veal have all continued to rise in price—between .03 and 1.5 percent—from March’s record high numbers, according to this month’s Consumer Price Index.
American rancher Shad Sullivan told The Epoch Times that the sharp rise in prices can be attributed to a “withering assault” from regulators and government authorities who have played an outsized role in the unprecedented increase.
“We are seeing prices at an all-time high, and it is getting close to that point when the consumer is going to say, I can’t do this anymore; it’s just too costly,” said Mr. Sullivan.
“They (officials and regulators) are trying to push these high prices as a new norm where meat is only a treat for the wealthy. That is where they are pushing us, and that is where we are going.”
Further, smaller farms are being increasingly shuttered under the weight of regulatory burden as standards recently imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency have resulted in compliance costs soaring to as high as $3 million for a single beef processing plant, according to Mr. Sullivan.
“How is the small guy supposed to compete?”
Justin Tupper, president of the United States Cattlemen’s Association, told The Epoch Times that American ranchers aren’t the ones seeing the profit from high price increases, which he attributes to several factors, including regulations and the ongoing monetary inflation that is a consequence of an increase in the money supply.
“We are cost takers, not cost makers, and everything we do costs more,” said Mr. Tupper.
