Beef prices expected to rise as drought eats into ranchers’ cattle counts
There’s likely to be a change in the cost of beef at the grocery store. That’s because historic drought and other factors are pressuring producers across the country to reduce their cattle counts. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a 3% drop in the country’s cattle and calves inventory as of Jan. 1. The number of beef cows –which amounts to about a third of all cattle and calves in the U.S. – was down 4%, the smallest count in more than 60 years. Most states in the Mountain West saw declines that were slightly less than the national average. Except for Utah, that is, which had a 6.3% drop in its total number of cattle and calves compared to 2021.