Consumers may be paying anywhere from 5 to 8 percent more for their beef, pork or chicken products in 2013, reports a market analyst. Randy Blach, vice president for CattleFax, told nearly a thousand cattle producers attending the 100th convention of the Kansas Livestock Association that consumer meat prices will rise to record highs because livestock production has fallen dramatically after ranchers culled animals during this year's drought, reports AP.
Ranchers sold livestock they couldn't afford to feed after the drought dried up pastures, cut hay production and drove up the price of corn and other feedstuffs.