For some businesses, there's a bigger concern right now than the economy and than Obamacare.....
Moo cows.
U.S. cattle herds have shrunk to a 63-year low, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and that has sent beef prices soaring. For a steakhouse like Louisville-based Texas Roadhouse, the price hike can put a dent in its net income bigger than the expansion of its company health insurance program.
In 2013, Texas Roadhouse’s beef costs were about 13 percent higher compared to the prior year.
“That dwarfs Obamacare,” Colosi said. “I’d much rather have the beef thing fixed.”
Yeah, "the beef thing" is getting quite concerning.
From a news article that came out last week.....
Next time you bite into a big, juicy hamburger, don't be surprised if it bites back -- at your bank account.
Unrelenting drought across large swaths of the Great Plains, Texas and California has led to the smallest U.S. cattle herd since 1951, shrinking the supply of beef. That has sent prices higher for everything from rump roasts to rib-eyes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the average retail price per pound for fresh beef in January was $5.04, the highest price ever on records that date back to 1987.
When a calf is born on a ranch, it is usually put out to graze on grass and pastureland.
When it doesn't rain, those pastures dry up. Without grass, the animals have to be fed something else.
But other feed types have become expensive, as prices of feed grains -- primarily corn -- soared because of drought.
"Hay prices are just going through the roof," said Kevin Kester, a fifth-generation rancher whose operation covers 22,000 acres in central California.
Cattle producers have been selling off their animals because they can't afford to feed them.
In Texas and Oklahoma, "There's a million-plus head of cattle that aren't here anymore," Freitag said. "Some guys just decided it was easier to plant corn than it was to raise or feed cattle."
$5.04 !!
and still going up. and up. and up.
And we're not even to the summer grilling season yet!
Yikes......
What will a steak be by July 4th ???
Out for now.....
Matt
read the full article: