RISING BEEF PRICES AND THE DROUGHT.
The Osgood File. Sponsored in part by Auto Owners Insurance, the No Problem People. Visit AutoOwners.Com. This is Charles Osgood.
The Drought of 2012 has already increased the price you're paying for beef, as you may have noticed.
VO - Anna Werner, CBS News Correspondent
"The average price for a pound of ground beef is three dollars a pound. That's a penny short of its record high." (:07)
Our CBS News Colleague Anna Werner has been covering the drought and its effects in Texas.
More from her after this...
((( BREAK )))
Cattle ranchers may wear cowboy hats, but they are businessmen - "beef producers," as they're called - turning out a commodity called beef.
Again, our CBS News colleague Anna Werner...
VO - Anna Werner
"In the last two years, Texas ranchers have reduced their herds by 15 percent. The Department of Agriculture says the number of cattle in the U.S. is at its lowest level in 60 years. That's propped up prices." (:13)
A business that loses money on every sale can't make it up in volume.
VO - Anna Werner
"As this drought widens and feed prices spike, beef producers can lose as much as 200 dollars per animal - so more livestock producers are sending cattle to slaughter." (:10)
This will cause a temporary glut of beef supply.
VO - Anna Werner
"The glut of meat will push beef prices down in the fall, but Perdue University economist Chris Hurt says smaller herds take years to recover." (:09)
SOT - Chris Hurt, an economist at Purdue University
"So we're going to see record beef prices, it looks like, for multiple years - setting new records at least through 2015." (:07)
Anna spoke with Jim Selman on the 3,000 acre ranch near Gonzales, Texas his family has owned since 1861.
SOT - Jim Selman, cattle rancher - with Anna Werner
"(Werner:) So as you sit here today, how are you sitting financially? (Selman:) Well, I'm losing money - (laughs) - but I have enough stashed back from the good years that I shall survive, and I will be in a position to refinance some more cattle. (Werner:) And you're planning to do it again? (Selman:) Oh, I will do it again. (Werner:) Because? (Selman:) Because that's my way of life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything." (:23)
The Osgood File. Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network. |
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