Record beef prices soften poor harvest
Staff writer
Warren Unruh’s wheat crop was pretty dismal. He got less than half the yield he expected from 800 acres of planted wheat. He wasn’t alone: the triple-whammy of a drought followed by poorly timed rains and then storms resulted in a disaster for wheat farmers in Marion County.
Cows to the rescue. The price of beef is at a historic high, and producers who raise beef along with their wheat, soy or corn crops are grinning all the way to the bank.
“No question this has been a great help,” Unruh said.
“If it wasn’t for cattle, I wouldn’t be growing grain right now,” Unruh said, standing in a pasture as a dozen cows nosed toward feed he brought. This year, his wheat sales “won’t cover expenses,” for Unruh, whose family has been on the Durham farm for five generations.
The national herd of beef cattle is at a 75-year low, the result of severe droughts and wildfires that have made feed scarce and expensive, near-monopoly by four major meatpackers, and an international market made unpredictable by tariffs and the Iran war.
Beef producers have reduced their cattle numbers, but found that consumer demand for beef has held pretty steady, resulting in a rise in prices.
The average price of uncooked steak meat in a U.S. city was about $8 at the start of 2020. It was about $12 in May a year ago, and now exceeds $13 per pound, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Preferred cuts are higher. Rib eye steak at Carlsons’ Grocery was selling for $19.99 a pound Monday. “People are still buying them,” said Jerry Hess, in charge of meat at the store. Rib eye steaks peaked at $24.99 when the beef shortage was worst, he said.
“We want people to come to Carlsons’ when they want good steak, and they are coming,” said Greg Carlson, co-owner. “Some complain about the prices, but they buy their steak.”
Cattle ranchers are hoping demand continues.
“We have had a great run of really good cattle prices that props up the prices of other commodities,” said Chris Cox, Marion County representative of the Kansas Livestock Association.
He estimates the “vast majority” of producers grow crops and cattle. Corn and soybeans typically are harvested later in the summer
According to the Department of Agriculture, 78,006 acres were planted in wheat this year in Marion County, a sharp drop from the 94,656 last year. Winter wheat is typically harvested in the spring or early summer; soybeans and corn later in the summer. Past estimates put the number of cows in the county at about 60,000.
“If you are diversifying and you raise crops and have cattle, you are making good money,” Rickey Roberts, Kansas State extension agent, said.
Not everyone wants to juggle farming with ranching. Van Peters, who raises, buys, and sells cows, acknowledges the strategy, but he does not farm.
“My rear fits a saddle better than a tractor seat,” he said, with a chuckle.
“My son farms quite a bit, and we feel sorry for him, because it is such a struggle,” Peters says of his son Ryan. “If it wasn’t for cattle, and crop insurance…”
Crop insurance, generally is based on prior years’ performance, “has kept a lot of these guys afloat,” he said. “It will keep you from going broke. It might pay your expenses, so you can go another year. But it won’t make you any money.”
The rise in cattle prices, “has been a godsend,” Peters said. “It’s enabled a lot of ranchers to pay off some land, buy new equipment.”
Producers say the higher prices are long overdue.
“When I was 20, I bought a brand new *72 Chevrolet pickup and paid for it with 10 calves,” Peters said. “That same truck today, a half-ton pickup, would take about 30 calves. Cattle aren’t high, pickups are high.”
Unruh agreed.
The costs of feed, chemicals, and replacing cattle all have risen, he said. “That’s all getting higher, so that’s going to start putting more cost into the cattle,” he said.
“It’s not as much fun as it used to be,” Unruh said. “It just takes too much money to make everything go.
“You know, you’re not talking hundreds of dollars; you’re talking thousands of dollars. One day you think you’re doing pretty well, and then a couple weeks later, you don’t think you’re doing so well.”