Everett Griner talks about why lower meat prices are forecast in today’s Agri View.
Corn Affecting Meat Prices
The more you produce of anything, the less it is worth. With that in mind, one major Mid-West university is forecasting a lower retail price level for meat and vegetables for the next couple of years. That has definite implications to beef, pork, poultry and milk.
This year, federal cattle prices have already dropped $20 per hundred weight. That trend is forecast to continue for the next two to three years. Big corn crops which have resulted in lower feed prices is the main reason. These huge corn crops have also reduced the amount of corn used in making ethanol.
Corn is not the only crop that affects meat and fuel prices but it’s by far the main one. However the same report is not a long-range forecast, just until 2018. And I could find no forecast just how much lower consumers can expect these prices to drop. My guess is not much, but every little bit helps.
That’s Agri View for today. I’m Everett Griner