Beef Prices On The Rise, Waistlines And Wallets Expected To Shrink

The good news is Austin got some rain this week. The bad news is we're still in a drought. Even if the rain were enough to end the drought, Texans will be feeling the effects of it for a while longer.

Because of the lack of rain, grazing lands for cattle have dried up and the cost of feed has skyrocketed necessitating the sale of over 600,000 cows. With fewer cows in Texas today, that means fewer calves tomorrow. According to the Agrilife Extension, there was a 12% decline in beef cattle nationally with next year's decline being forecast at 4%.

Demand for steak, beef, and burgers is huge right now and with less beef on the market, prices will rise. Demand for choice beef is growing and now that discount retailers like Wal-Mart are selling more of it, supplies will be more strained as demand rises.

2012 may be the year of Chick-Fil-A.

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