Have-A-Burger Price Beef? So Do Ranchers

As beef prices soar remember those rancher shows you love & how your idols manipulated herd numbers to dictate prices to consumers. WSJ says today’s “burger prices to remain high as cattle ranchers shrink herds.”

It’s not that our Yellowstone neighbors are acting out of pure greed to cash in a Bonanza at our expense. As the WSJ notes, “drought is adding to feed costs, prompting the cutbacks that threaten meatpackers’ profits” as well as household budgets. But, USDA stats are alarming as beef costs are soaring … and will continue to soar to record highs … as they bluntly signal beef production to decline by 7% in 2023.

In one episode, didn’t Ben Cartwright famously say something like this from one Montana rancher who pined about worsening economic conditions: “It is really stressful,” she told the WSJ. “A lot of ranchers are in deep, deep debt and if they have to go more in debt, some people will go out of business in the next few years.” No doubt. But, if beef & other food costs keep rising like they have been at our grocery stores, a lot of city folk getting deeper, deeper in debt are going to be going bankrupt in the next few months as well.

Davd Soul