With These Prices, We May Need Steak Loans

Sorry, carnivores, but that tenderloin is going to cost you more.

So is the chicken breast. And the turkey. And the pork chop.

Meat prices are on the rise, thanks largely to a double whammy last year of high costs and low demand.

Wholesale beef prices are up about 15 percent from a year ago, said Bill McKinnon, executive director of the Virginia Beef Industry Council and executive secretary of the Virginia Cattlemen's Association.

Chicken is up 15 percent, turkey is up 20 percent, and pork is up 30 percent within the last year, McKinnon said.

McKinnon and other industry experts say the problem began when corn and oil prices started going up a couple of years ago. McKinnon said corn went from $2.50 a bushel to $7 or $8 a bushel.

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