There’s a beef shortage in America, and it’s driving up prices at the grocery store for burgers and steaks just as the summer outdoor grilling season gets started. This isn’t helping fight the affordability crisis, so what can be done to make those cheeseburgers less expensive?Ground beef prices hit record highs this year, with average prices approaching $7 per pound nationally. That’s almost 15% higher than consumers paid last year and more than 50% higher than five years ago. Beef and veal prices continue to increase in a way that far outpaces wages.The main reason for this price surge is the old law of supply and demand. America is facing the worst cattle shortage in generations. According to the Agriculture Department’s annual report, the U.S. cattle head count is 86.2 million. While this may sound high to most observers, it is actually the lowest count on record since 1951.
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To be clear, this is not because cattlemen and ranchers forgot how to raise cattle. And there’s no shortage of cowboys steering the herd. Cattlemen have been the victims of unprecedented circumstances. Drought conditions in parts of the Midwest and the rest of the world have been compounded by a witch’s brew of other supply chain disruptions, including higher feed costs, wildfires, and government overregulation.
