Beef prices hit record highs. Four ways to save.
Beef prices are soaring, which can have a greater immediate impact on the family wallet than that of most food items. Switching to poultry or fish, buying less popular cuts, and joining a meat share are a few ways to cope with rising beef prices.
By Kevin Voigt, Guest blogger / April 16, 2014
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The cost of ?all-fresh? USDA choice-grade beef in February reached a record retail price of $5.28 per pound, compared to $4.91 at the same time last year and $3.97 in 2008. That?s the highest price for beef since 1987. The cost of ground beef rose to $3.55 in February, up 56% since 2010.
Years of drought in cattle country have cut the American herd to its lowest level since 1951. And the rising fortunes and appetites for U.S. beef in Asia, especially China, have raised the competition over who will get American steaks. Analysts at Rabobank reckon the growth in global beef demand will continue to come mainly from China, where the domestic production of meat can?t meet rising demand.
And prices will likely remain high as ranchers struggle to replenish herds and as rain levels in ranching states raise questions whether pastures can support an increase, the Associated Press reports.
?We?ve seen strong prices before, but nothing this extreme,? Dennis Smith, a commodities broker for Archer Financial Services in Chicago, told the Los Angeles Times. ?This is really new territory.?
What can you do?
...
Full text:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Sa...r-ways-to-save.
Beef prices are soaring, which can have a greater immediate impact on the family wallet than that of most food items. Switching to poultry or fish, buying less popular cuts, and joining a meat share are a few ways to cope with rising beef prices.
By Kevin Voigt, Guest blogger / April 16, 2014
...
The cost of ?all-fresh? USDA choice-grade beef in February reached a record retail price of $5.28 per pound, compared to $4.91 at the same time last year and $3.97 in 2008. That?s the highest price for beef since 1987. The cost of ground beef rose to $3.55 in February, up 56% since 2010.
Years of drought in cattle country have cut the American herd to its lowest level since 1951. And the rising fortunes and appetites for U.S. beef in Asia, especially China, have raised the competition over who will get American steaks. Analysts at Rabobank reckon the growth in global beef demand will continue to come mainly from China, where the domestic production of meat can?t meet rising demand.
And prices will likely remain high as ranchers struggle to replenish herds and as rain levels in ranching states raise questions whether pastures can support an increase, the Associated Press reports.
?We?ve seen strong prices before, but nothing this extreme,? Dennis Smith, a commodities broker for Archer Financial Services in Chicago, told the Los Angeles Times. ?This is really new territory.?
What can you do?
...
Full text:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Sa...r-ways-to-save.
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