Beef prices in the U.S. are surging. Federal data shows the average price of a pound of 100% ground beef is at a record high, due to a combination of climate factors, high input costs and limited supplies.
The beef industry is battling multiple challenges: a prolonged drought across key cattle states, record‑high feed costs and the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75 years. All have contributed to the record prices consumers are paying in grocery stores.
Tighter supplies are pushing up the cost of lean and ground beef, which are the types most commonly imported in the U.S. High tariffs on Brazilian beef imports and restrictions on Mexican beef imports tied to screwworm concerns are also driving prices higher.
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In an October 22 social media message, President Trump credited those tariff politics with raising the revenue that U.S. ranchers may collect — but he also warned them that they needed to lower prices charged to consumers.
President Trump announced a plan last week to boost imports of beef from Argentina to increase supply. But some Republican lawmakers have pushed back on the proposal, sending a message to the White House that the move would hurt U.S. ranchers and farm workers.
Other meats, like pre-sliced lunch meats, are also getting more expensive. Bloomberg News reported late in October that lunch meats saw their greatest single month-to-month price increase ever in September. The sales of packaged lunch meat have also declined since last year.
