I don't know, but I think it has something to do with the record COLD weather the U.S. has been having.
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You could be right. It could also be that there was less on hand due to the fact that propane usage in the prior years was less and they weren't expecting the cold snap. They seem to be careful not to order anymore than what is necessary fearing having more money in it than they would if ordered in the spring.
2.50 or so last week they tell me. I filled a couple of 5# tanks today for 4.49. Like every thing I do (especially fishing and hunting), "you should've been here last week"
Do not forget the storm that hit last year and froze cattle where they stood.
Someone here posted photos showing some ranchers loses.
I get to see both ends of the beef price story. I see the price at the supermarket, and I see the price for the weaned calf being purchased to be fed up to finish weight.
I've been selling beef calves for twenty years, so I guess I'll just believe my own experience.
CM
Those beef prices are insane...
With hay at over $200 a ton, replacement heifers of any quality scarce, land prices and water issues they are justified but still high. If you have a freezer and want to eat beef pick up a Corriente roping steer that has outgrown it's usefulness for a lot cheaper than Angus prices. The catch is you have to go to the sale or buy direct..
I buy a quarter of beef every year from a local farmer. Black angus grass fed, aged 2 weeks, cut, wrapped, delivered to my front door for $3 a pound. Local butcher who keeps things super clean so a rare hamburger is just fine, I asked him and he ate some raw that he was grinding.