Sticker shock at the meat counter

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We’re heading into barbecue season, and shoppers are facing sticker shock at the meat counter. The price of beef has doubled over the past year, because the size of the herd has been slashed. The herd had to be culled in 2003 because of the mad cow scare.

Ten years ago West Lincoln cattle farmer Andy Klodnicki had 30 cows on his farm. Today, he has a dozen. He says there’s no incentive to build the herd because prices, for farmers at least, have never been better.
“Instead of breeding that heifer they’re saying ‘I’m getting such good money at the markets today, the demand is so high, I’m just going to sell the breeding herd.”

It takes three years before a cow goes to slaughter – buying one cow today costs a lot of money. “Nobody can guarantee the farmer the price today will the same three years from now.”

Ten years ago across North America, about 700 thousand cattle went to slaughter every week. Today that number’s plunged to 450 thousand. They say in Ontario alone there are 100 thousand fewer head of cattle.

Jason Zarafonitis owns “The Big Sizzle” hamburger joint in Niagara Falls. He says his butcher is helping him keep the price down for now. “Once we do see the effect we will have to raise our prices. I’m buying more and more chicken and pork because the beef is becoming quite pricey.”

$14.50 a pound for sirloin–more for ribeye. Shoppers at Vic’s Meats in Grimsby see the beef price and look for something else. “We’re starting to eat a little less beef and more of other kinds of foods.”