Message #34904

[Kilika]

Now, “it’s a whole different scenario,” Kevin Good, a senior analyst with CattleFax, told NBC News.

The U.S. cattle and calf herd is at its lowest level since 1952 and cattle producers have been hard hit by poor pasture conditions, a poor hay crop, drought in the Southern Plains and late freezing weather, according to a USDA economist. Those problems will linger at least until the second half of 2014, he said. Until then, that tight supply means higher beef prices, particularly for better cuts of meat.

More of that U.S. meat is also going overseas as foreign demand rises.

Among the increasing costs to raise cattle is a doubling of corn prices due to its demand for use to produce ethanol. The use corn ultimately results in better barbecue if it is mixed into the cow’s diet, Early said. “That’s what they feed to the cows for the white fat, which is what we want,” Early said. ”If they feed them $8 corn, that’s going to run our prices up.”

Yes, it is. Corporate agriculture has made sure of that.

The love of money has caused people to seek profit from farming, rather than seeking to feed people, and that mentality has driven them to seek more and more "cost effective" ways to make a dollar off farming. The huge risk with massive corporate farms is that a much larger percent of the herd or crop can be affected because farms have become concentrated in large areas of the country, so if that area gets a drought, most of the crop or herd is affected.

That wouldn't be possible if families still had their own personal small farms, a few animals and a decent garden. The supply is spread out, and no one local situation will hurt the overall supply. Those unaffected in the surrounding areas help out those in need. Not so with corporate agriculture. They are in business to make money, evidenced by how they continue to jack up prices by manipulating supply, and the financial markets, regardless of the public need.

Thieves and robbers.