Cattle in a field near Audubon.
Expansion in the country’s beef cattle herd is bringing cheaper meat prices to the grocery store.
Lower costs for feed and other incentives over the past three years sparked the nation’s beef producers to bring more cattle to market. Iowa State University economist Lee Schulz says lower retail prices arrived a bit quicker than expected.
Schulz says, “What many of us thought would be a much longer, prolonged process to get to this new price level, really occurred in the last 3 months of 2015.” Schulz says a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows ground beef is about 30 cents a pound cheaper now than it was a year ago.
Schulz says, “We’ve seen increases in beef production really started in late 2015 and into 2016, so from the year-over-year standpoint, that increase in production will lead to lower prices.” As the approaching summer heats up, he says other meats that are popular on the grill, like steaks and ribs, should also have lower prices than last year.
(Thanks to Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)