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Besides drought, feed prices have been quite high, and that additional cost gets passed along.
Also the dairy glut is over. A lot of hamburger was coming from dairy cows since there were too many and the herds were being culled a few years ago which was depressing beef prices. Less dairy cows are being slaughtered this year, and since dairy cows amount to a fairly sizable chunk, especially of ground beef, that has an effect.
But anyway, if the OP is paying $6 a pound that's more a reflection of shopping at an over priced store. It's about $4.40 at Trader Joe's which isn't the cheapest.
I was just chatting with our beef provider today and his problem is that his kids are getting too fond of the livestock these days and he's having trouble sending cows to the slaughterhouse while keeping peace in his household. Also for the last several years, his dairy cows have been having heifers and not bull calves so there hasn't been bulls or steers for slaughter in any case. So, he said it would be awhile before more beef. Good thing there's still some in the freezer, but we won't be able to stock up again for awhile. May have to go buy half a beef from someone else or maybe switch to lamb and mutton.
I just buy it for an occasional treat. I made meatballs with ground turkey. I buy a lot of whole chickens and cut them into quarters myself. Once you get experienece it takes a minute to do and costs $0.95 per pound at Aldi. I could buy a meat grinder and make my own ground chicken and turkey.
along with the other issues- feed prices are at an all time high- (ethynol in gas)
in years past the beef market would go up and eventually come down, but again,,, exports are high
and it takes a long time for beef to correct/recover, cows only have one or two calves and take 18-24 months to grow
pigs have many many piglets and take 4-6 months to grow
most all the other expenses are going up, from taxes, to insurance to energy costs
this time of year, traditionally the rib eye demand would skyrocket, because many people buy prime ribs for Christmas dinner,,,
the whole critter has to be processed for those 40lbs of rib eyes - so it use to work like this- if the demand on the middle meats were up (middle meats are rib, and loin cuts)
then the end cuts would saturate the market. and prices would be low to move the chucks and rounds-
they would be cheap- roasts, burger, stew, chuck and round steaks-
this isn't happening because the export demand is high , so the "market saturation" isn't happening , this is a reason why beef is high
certain beef items aren't overly high- while the rib eye is very high, the sirloin strip is not
I might be buying a sirloin strip roast for my Christmas meal this year for 2-3.00 lb less than a rib eye
also, if I want my meat cheaper, I will buy select grade, not prime or choice grade= select is still very good on rib and loin cuts
Seriously, hamburger is $6 per lb here. What are you paying and why is it so high? And that's just for regular hamburger. The lean stuff is even higher. And I haven't seen a package of hamburger in the bargain bin for ages.
I like pork and chicken but I really miss my beef. After combing through all the circulars I found a Thursday only sale on ground beef for $2.99/lb. Guess I will go and get some. Every now and then, I just NEED meatloaf!
Hamburger is supposed to be cheap!
look for bnls chuck and bottom round roasts on sale for 2.59 -2.99lb and ask them to grind it
$4.19/lb. for 1/2 side of organic, grass fed beef from hoof to table in central Wisconsin.
I had no idea that grocery store beef was so expensive. Hmmmm...
RVcook
expensive?? hmmmmmmm
that 4.19lb is often "on the hoof" which may include the head and hide weight
and lets sa its not including that and its a "side" of beef- well that is half bone and fat
so for what you are actually eating you are paying double the 4.19lb to 8.38 lb
for burger and chuck and round steaks???????
I've been butchering local beef from farmers for 30 years
people are getting screwed bigtime,,,because they are not just paying for food, they are happily paying for a "cause" (organic, local, grass fed, etc,)
if you ever saw what I have you would think twice about what you now believe
Wheres the Beef..its rarely on my table with these prices.
I love beef and I eat it a lot- my vegetarian dr. says he would pay for my bloodwork results and my chlolesterol is great too
I buy the whole primals whole topbutt (sirloins) whole rib eyes and whole bottom rounds for roasts/stew and burger
look at different flyers look at the front page loss leaders - buy the lead sale items!!
I bought a whole boneless pork loin at an iga last week for 1.99lb I cut it up myself and freeze,,
but they will also cut it up for free into chops and roasts
these are 7-9lbs and easy to cut
the regular retail at all the supermarkets around here and box stores are 3.99-4.99lb for boneless pork chops
buy these whole pieces,,,there is little waste!!!
cut it yourself and save bigtime
I bought a whole boneless pork loin at an iga last week for 1.99lb I cut it up myself and freeze,,
but they will also cut it up for free into chops and roasts
these are 7-9lbs and easy to cut
By far, the boneless pork loin is the easiest piece of meat to cut up. I usually cut it into one roast, 2# of pork cubes and the rest into boneless pork chops, and I marinate half of those prior to freezing.
Actually, our local IGA will cut them up for you at no extra charge. And those kids do it the way you request, something you will NEVER find at the large chain supermarkets.
Our Grocery Store does not keep any of the Ground Chuck or Ground Sirloin at the end of the day. They put it in their freezer & the next morning sell it for $1.49 lb. I call ahead of time and stock up at that price. They grind their meat every day.
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