date:Apr 15, 2014
Beef prices reached their highest level in 27 years. The average retail price for beef jumped to more than $5 per lb., almost 25c higher than prices in January and the highest since 1987. Shrinking supplies of cattle and export demand from Asia are driving price increases with little relief in sight.
Persistent drought conditions followed by severe winter weather have resulted in the smallest U.S. cattle herd in more than 60 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Jan. 31 Cattle report indi