We were out west for a week, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa ... she was mighty dry all over. Cow/calf operations seemed to have fewer animals out on pasture then what we remember in past years. There were a few loads of green hay moving west on the highways and interstate. My impression, beef numbers are down and will be in the foreseeable future. Cattlemen that have the resources will be making out well for a few years.

We're eating a lot more pork now than beef at current prices. I guess we all adapt in our own way.

Plenty of hay being made in Carrol county Ohio Sunday. Nothing is cheap anymore. Didn't Montana and Wyoming have record snow fall two years ago? No more mule deer, antelope and elk.

West of I135/hwy81 pastures are marginal. In good years water is a problem. Takes a lot for a cow calf pair. East of there pasture is being developed at very high rate. Once its gone it's gone. It's not just a drought problem.

Not sure where you are getting your news from. Lol

Beef here has become so expensive I never buy it anymore. Good pork is several times cheaper. We're told it's because it all goes to China now, because China used to buy beef from the US but won't anymore because of the tariffs, so they're buying beef from us now (and from places like Australia).


We had some issues with what the authorities called "pasteurellosis" earlier this year, and quite a few farmers and just rural people lost their cows without any coherent explanations or compensations.
Lots of people claim a lot of the beef in stores now is horse meat.

Beef isn’t even high priced if you consider that I make 5 times as much money as I did 30 years ago…beef prices have not kept up with wages at all…

True but not really comparing apples to apples. Beef is a commodity with supply and demand event which shapes it's price. That would be mean a jobs wage should go down and up also.

Snowy there is no such thing as apples to apples anymore technology has replaced labor the quarry i retired from payed me 22 bucks an hour for being a millwright licensed for ship welding
welding high pressure pipe, 'mig and arc for structure etc however i retired with a pension and had insurance bennies thru my 40 years there now they make 35 bucks/hour no qualifications needed and zero benefits how can you compare those
as far as beef people are still buying As far as gas prices my little town of 2000 souls has been flooded with cars (tourists) all summer hotels are full the state park takes reservations a year in advance or not at all Different world out there

That's because you finally have a job.

Supply is down and demand is up as there is a high demand for protein based foods and beef is an easy one to reach for and utilize. Eating habits take time to shift.

Bryce

We've decided filet mignon is the best value. Not paying $20/# for fat and bone. And 8 0z is a good portion for a meal.

That is always the best value even with low beef prices not to pay for bone annd fat.

15 million additional Mexicans eating ground beef at Taco Bell adds up

That's ground beef?

Shhhh

Gonna just put a couple extra deer in the freezer this year.

Lotsa roadkill round here. No need to buy a permit.

Not at my house. But I guess I'm an "industry insider."

My wife works for a cattle broker and her last "bonus" was 30 lbs of burger from her boss's herd.

She explained it like this... Producers want to sell their cattle because they can't afford to feed them. But no one wants to buy them... Because they can't afford to feed them. And no one is trying to breed them. Moving bred heifers is tough right now... Because no one wants more mouths to feed in their herd.

The market is basically at a standstill.

We had a decently wet spring in my area. So most of the locals have done ok with hay... Good enough to sell surplus to producers in drought-stricken areas... But overall it makes for an exceptionally tight market.

My advice: pray for rain.

Mike

How did he screw the cattleman. Hasn't the big 4, Tyson, Cargill, JBS and National Beef been screwing the cattleman and the consumer for years? Trump went after them in his 1st term and his current term. What about the cattle coming in from Mexico. Has been for years. How does that help the American cattleman? A year ago, when I passed through Missouri, I noticed large areas of ungrazed grassland. Why.
Trump is only trying to ease the pain as quickly as possible since it will take years to regrow the herd.
Is Tyson closing plants do to the fact that their illegal help is being deported and it looks better than admitting they have been screwing the American cattleman and consumer.
In 2024, 2.84 billion pounds of beef was imported into the US.
American cattlemen raise beef for steaks and roast. Not your hamburger. Isn,t hamburger the most consumed beef in the US. And the item the people are (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) over. If you want to turn the voting public against Trump and the Republicans, make their number one food consumable expensive.
Trump is trying to level the playing field and is the only president in recent history to do so. For the cattlemen that they think they are being screwed, what's their 90 day solution to lowering the beef prices?
Maybe this is the big 4 paying Trump back for them getting busted on their antitrust racketeering. And only 2 of them are American owned companies.
Do you think the big 4 kissed any the cattlemen before they screwed them over the years?

And it’s a good one too…