Beef prices are spiraling. Meat lovers aren’t deterred — yet.

[Zincwarrior]

Beef prices rose 11% in July, driven by drought in the US and tariffs and foreign meat imports, particularly Brazil. Where's the Beef!

Beef prices are spiraling. Meat lovers aren’t deterred — yet.​

Drought has squeezed the U.S. cattle supply and pushed up prices. And now consumers have to deal with tariff shock.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/08/20/beef-inflation-drought-tariffs-brazil/

Red meat prices are skyrocketing in the United States, the world’s largest consumer and producer of beef. Beef and veal prices surged 11.3 percent in July over the year, according to the most recent consumer price index report. That’s nearly four times the price jump of food overall during the same period.

And it’s not just the U.S. where consumer beef prices are reaching record highs this summer.

Avalos said he’s changing his own grocery shopping habits. Along with his wife and two kids, he’ll eat red meat only once a week — or shrink his weekly portions.
“We used to eat meat every single day,” Avalos said. “Now, we get two pounds, and we try to make that last all week. Before, we used to eat that in a sitting.”

One of the drivers of spiking beef costs is a drought that has ravaged U.S. cattle in key meat-producing states since 2022, causing cattle volumes to collapse this year to their lowest recorded levels since 1951. And now, the Trump administration’s tariffs are hitting major beef suppliers such as Brazil — and are set to push prices for American consumers even higher.

 

[1srelluc]

Yeah, I went in to my butcher's place and bought a couple of thin sliced NY strips to make Beef Pepper Steak with. Less than a pound and it was like $12.00.

Sigh, I really need to find someone on the EBT to sell beef to me so I can get it for half-price.

No joke either.....My butcher told me a large percentage of their better cuts are bought by EBTers and resold right in the parking lot.

 

[Zincwarrior]

Yeah, I went in to my butcher's place and bought a couple of thin sliced NY strips to make Beef Pepper Steak with. Less than a pound and it was like $12.00.

Sigh, I really need to find someone on the EBT to sell beef to me so I can get it for half-price.

No joke either.....My butcher told me a large percentage of their better cuts are bought by EBTers and resold right in the parking lot.

EBT?

 

[1srelluc]

EBT?

It's "food stamps" or whatever it's called in different states.....It's SNAP in TX.

 

[Moonglow]

Yeah, I went in to my butcher's place and bought a couple of thin sliced NY strips to make Beef Pepper Steak with. Less than a pound and it was like $12.00.

Sigh, I really need to find someone on the EBT to sell beef to me so I can get it for half-price.

No joke either.....My butcher told me a large percentage of their better cuts are bought by EBTers and resold right in the parking lot.

My butcher told me yer butcher is a liar.

 

[Moonglow]

I got T-bones at tenbox last week fer $5.95 a pound....So tender and delicious.

 

[Zincwarrior]

People have butchers? The differences in regions are interesting.

 

[Moonglow]

People have butchers? The differences in regions are interesting.

Yes, but can't buy bones fer dogs anymore.

 

[Winston]

Yeah, I went in to my butcher's place and bought a couple of thin sliced NY strips to make Beef Pepper Steak with. Less than a pound and it was like $12.00.

Sigh, I really need to find someone on the EBT to sell beef to me so I can get it for half-price.

No joke either.....My butcher told me a large percentage of their better cuts are bought by EBTers and resold right in the parking lot.

Hell, find the local biker bar and hang out for a bit. A fence will show up, you can get your meat half price from him as well. Stolen.

 

[Winston]

Beef prices rose 11% in July, driven by drought in the US and tariffs and foreign meat imports, particularly Brazil. Where's the Beef!

Beef prices are spiraling. Meat lovers aren’t deterred — yet.​

Drought has squeezed the U.S. cattle supply and pushed up prices. And now consumers have to deal with tariff shock.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/08/20/beef-inflation-drought-tariffs-brazil/

Damn, surprising how little the press knows. The supply of beef cattle in the United States is at the lowest point in seventy years. Calf prices have went through the roof the last several months. And Mexico used to supply a large amount of feeder cattle to the feedlots, that was stopped due to "disease" a few months ago. Canada is also a strong supplier of primals, especially in the Prime grade. The tariffs have impacted that as well.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Beef prices rose 11% in July, driven by drought in the US and tariffs and foreign meat imports, particularly Brazil. Where's the Beef!

Beef prices are spiraling. Meat lovers aren’t deterred — yet.​

Drought has squeezed the U.S. cattle supply and pushed up prices. And now consumers have to deal with tariff shock.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/08/20/beef-inflation-drought-tariffs-brazil/

Meat lovers eat more than just beef, fyi.

 

[22lcidw]

When products get expensive, black markets rise up. We might see a rise in thievery in warehouses, meat production facilities and truckers as targets of thieves for the purpose of reselling it to consumers at a lower price.

 

[braalian]

Yes, but can't buy bones fer dogs anymore.

Why?

 

[justoffal]

Beef prices rose 11% in July, driven by drought in the US and tariffs and foreign meat imports, particularly Brazil. Where's the Beef!

Beef prices are spiraling. Meat lovers aren’t deterred — yet.​

Drought has squeezed the U.S. cattle supply and pushed up prices. And now consumers have to deal with tariff shock.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/08/20/beef-inflation-drought-tariffs-brazil/

Additionally processing houses have become fewer and number and it takes longer to process the cattle aside from being more expensive.
But you were right about one thing meat lovers will spend any amount of money required to sit down and have their steak.

I no longer eat any type of beef product..
All of my non plant protein comes from chicken livers and unsalted sardines. Occasionally white chicken.

 

[Paddlefoot]

Washington state.

 

[JWBooth]

Beef prices are spiraling​

Goes with shrunken beef herds and tariffs on Brazilian and Argentinian beef.

 

[Paddlefoot]

Beef prices are spiraling​

Goes with shrunken beef herds and tariffs on Brazilian and Argentinian beef.

No more land stolen to put up commie eyesore windmills and panels. Bring back that land for cattle grazing.

 

[JWBooth]

No more land stolen to put up commie eyesore windmills and panels. Bring back that land for cattle grazing.

I'm sure that had an effect. Biden Agriculture Department policies had a greater effect.