WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – It costs a lot more this year to feed meat animals corn and soybean meal than it did just a few years ago. By the end of 2011, meat eaters will be forking out more money, as well, a Purdue University agricultural economist says.
Rising grain prices are pushing feed costs higher for U.S. livestock producers, said Chris Hurt. With feed making up as much as 60 percent of a livestock producer's costs, beef and pork producers are expected to reduce their herd sizes or leave them unchanged next year. Poultry farmers could increase production slightly.
That all adds up to sticker shock for consumers – especially those who eat beef, Hurt said.
"When we look at the period prior to 2007, corn prices were averaging closer to $2 a bushel and we saw retail prices of beef average about $3.84 per pound," Hurt said. "Now corn prices are around $5.50 a bushel, and we're projecting for 2011 that we'll reach about $4.65 a pound for beef."
To read the rest of this story please go to: Purdue Department of Agricultural Economics