Rising Beef Prices

Time to stock up now before the beef prices rise. I was reading an article about the United States Cattle herd being the smallest it has been since 1958. According to census numbers there are now over 308 million people in the United States versus 179 million in 1960.

Given the increase in people and the fact that earnings to ranchers doubled from 2010 to 2011 it is a telling fact that the herd actually decreased. The drought has played a major factor in the cattle herd. Beef prices to rise will be under pressure for at least 2 years.

There are a few things we can do to prepare now. The first thing is to start searching for alternative protein sources. The beef prices will ensure that eating out or choosing something at home will make beef a pricier option.

The second option is to stock up on beef now. You can either freeze the beef for later consumption. The other thing that is to pressure can some of your excess. I talked about canning ground beef earlier. In fact one of the main reasons we started canning was financial.

Think about the savings that your family can enjoy by putting up two years worth of food at today’s prices versus what will be higher beef prices in 2012 through 2015. Just like wishing that you had stocked up on peanut butter last fall before prices went up 40% due to a poor harvest.

The third way to prepare for rising prices is to become more self sufficient. The old homestead cow is one that needs to come back everywhere. If you pick the right breed like a Dexter than you can have a milk cow and process the off-spring for meat. The prerequisite is that you have to feed and house the cattle, but there are many other benefits to that as well.

There is a lot more to being prepared than you think of. Rising beef prices show that you can save money while also preparing for things that may happen in the future. The peace of mind knowing that you have a well stocked pantry is almost priceless.

To see people standing outside on a rainy January morning for 2 hours at a food pantry is very humbling. There are people that do not have the food to feed their families. This happens daily in the United States. Learning to prepare now can save all of us in the long run.