Lowest cattle herd in 60 years may lead to further increases to beef
The USDA reported last week that there about 91 million head of cattle in the United States, a decrease of 2 percent from a year ago and the smallest cattle herd since 1952. The shrinking supply is expected to lead to a 4% to 5% increase in the price of retail beef, after a 10% increase in 2011, reports USA Today.
John Nalivka, owner of consulting firm Sterling Marketing, estimates prices could rise as much as another 10% — more than double the inflation rate for all food.