Another Downer Beef…

[LA Pork Butt]

Here is another downer beef article. It appears that price of beef is still headed upward, and that brisket may move into the category of pricey steak. It is once again the sad story of what was once a cheap cut of meat is now an expensive cut of meat. https://apple.news/AJ1lpybrMMSGEMKw-m_Cg6A

[captainlee]

Besides all the issues with the cost of beef rising, the popularity of brisket now with so many people into smoking doesn't help. Follow the trend, follow the price.

[LA Pork Butt]

Supply demand still affects prices. I’m still unhappy with what the popularity of Buffalo Wings did to the price wings. They used to be dirt cheap.

[klflowers]

LA Pork Butt we ate wings all the time when I was a kid. No one wanted them. Same with ox tails. They are insanely expensive now too

[Jerod Broussard]

My dad saw this shift with beef tongue and pig stomach......People from south Louisiana and Mexico have very similar tastes with respect to animal protein.

[HawkerXP]

[klflowers]

I haven't done a brisket in awhile because of the cost and availability of prime, and the big difference (IMO) between choice and prime brisket. I do chuckies now and they are getting expensive

[captainlee]

I gave up on briskets, too much meat for the two of us. Never enough time when the kids come up to dedicate to smoking one, too many other things to do. I'm doing my part to help stabilizing pricing. I too switched to chuckies, now I'm part of the problem.

[LA Pork Butt]

Bummer! Now chuck roasts are going up!

[Oak Smoke]

There’s a bunch of beef people who are claiming that beef is just now catching up with all the other price increases. I hope they’re wrong. I don’t believe they understand they’re going to kill demand for their product at some point. If we didn’t have the luxury of raising our own beef there’d be a lot more venison and feral pork in my freezer. I’ll bet texastweeter‘s freezer is full of great protein that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Then he turns it into gourmet food!

[jfmorris]

Awesome. I am thinking of getting the gear to handload, mostly so that I can shoot my great grandfather's Winchester 1873, chambered in WCF 38 aka .38-40. Long heavy octogonal barrel and iron sights.

Such a misnamed cartridge too, as it should be really .40-40. I've really not hand an interested in loading for my semi-autos, as I don't recover most of that brass. But for the revolvers and the lever action rifles, I can collect it, since it ain't flying all over the place.

[Oak Smoke]

jfmorris Check eBay, check Craig’s, or local listings for reloading equipment. There always seems to be someone selling their late father’s reloading equipment. You can save a fortune. If I can help in any way please let me know.

[surfdog]

What is this hand load you speak of? A broad head just needs to be sharp. O_o

With that, a friend invited me to go hunt deer. I don’t like venison. I mean REALLY don’t like venison. Really seriously do not like venison. And then I added, “Pretty sure all I’m gonna do is piss off a rancher by putting a broad head into his prize steer while hunting for a brisket.” LOL

Did I mention that I don’t like venison?

[FireMan]

Somebody must have mentioned this if not in a previous article. This all started some 2-3 years ago and we are now paying at the pump so to speak. A turn around will take some time, cuz it takes a few days to build up a herd, yessir.

[dpearce]

This is kinda the reply we got from our beef supplier. Said, they've already paid for the next couple years of calves, so that cost is already out the door. I took that to mean our next bulk order may not be that much different in price from our previous orders.

[Oak Smoke]

Johnny Booth We have to feed the cattle more if there’s frozen stuff on the pasture. They don’t feed as well as bison in this stuff. They also need to generate more heat in this cold. It all boils down to a higher feed bill for a few days. Once we get back in the 60’s there’s quite a bit of green grass we call winter grass. The cattle love it.

[DavidNorcross]

I could be wrong. But instead of producing soybean that no one seems to be buying, maybe our farmers should switch to beef. This all appears to be a supply and demand situation.

[DavidNorcross]

texastweeter , IMHO there in lies the problem. But I agree with you.

[LA Pork Butt]

texastweeter I don’t know if it is still in effect, but 50 years ago when I lived in West Texas cotton farmers were paid to not plant a portion of their land. That can contribute to price control.

[dpearce]

Some of the large farm families I grew up around jumped on the corn and soybean wagon in the late 70's. I remember one farmer telling my parents, it was go big or go home, so they went big.

[Lynn Dollar]

I'm sure its complex, but because there's only two brisket per cow, it makes the supply of brisket what economists call " inelastic " .

Brisket is a by product. Cattle are raised for all the other cuts of beef, not brisket. They can't increase supply just because demand for brisket increases.

And I have no doubt that herd sizes enter into this also. But just me, I think its the demand for brisket that's driving prices higher.

[LA Pork Butt]

I don’t disagree with you, but I am pretty sure all beef prices are up which, if true, means it is not just a brisket supply issue but a cow supply issue.

[Lynn Dollar]

On a positive note, I was at Sams this morning and prime brisket was $6 pound. It was $7 a pound a couple months ago.

But still, if they raise enough cattle to meet the brisket demand, then there would be an over supply of steaks, ground beef, and roasts.

Frankly, IDK how they juggle all the different cuts to keep supply/demand in balance.

[Carolyn]

I learn about things on this forum. I never really thought about the very limited number of calves being born. I don't purchase a lot of beef because my husband doesn't really like red meat all that much, so it doesn't affect me much. However, I do keep ground beef on hand, and that has gotten pricey.

Help the herds recover:

[J-Melt]

Chic-fil-a could have some really successful advertising using this issue! Especially since chickens reproduce so much quicker.

[LA Pork Butt]

J-Melt at $1.77-1.99 a pound for boneless skinless thighs they are already my go to meat. Almost any other protein is twice that on sale.

[texastweeter]

Look into if its the ranchers, slaughter houses, or the packers that are driving up prices. Trust me, there is no shortage of cattle.... your welcome for sending you down that rabbithole.

[Donw]

January 2026 USDA

https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/795748/catl0126.pdf

[J-Melt]

Looking at the line graph on this it looks like the herd is leveling out before going back up like it has multiple times in the graph. Hopefully I am not heedlessly thinking glass half full.

[bbqLuv]

Do not hard the Olive Oil for the Wine

[Oak Smoke]

OK I have to tell this story. The title to this thread caught me off guard. I thought when I opened it I was going to see info on downer cattle. A downer cow is one that for what ever can’t stand up. Most places destroy those cattle in a humane way and bury or burn them. There are however some large corporate dairies that process those cattle and grind them into hamburger to be used in their chain of restaurants. There are a few classes of cattle that are sold as slaughter only. I know of no one who buys downer cattle to process. It’s all done “in house” at large corporate setups.

[texastweeter]

Or rancher keeps it for tral meat