If burgers are on your summer menu, you’ve probably felt the heat... at the register. Ground beef now averages $6.12 per pound, up nearly 12% from last year. Steaks? $11.49 per pound, an 8% jump.
“When you pay $8 for a pound and a half of hamburger, and it used to be $1.99, that's a lot,” said Cayucos resident Barbara Black.
That’s a far cry from 1992, when the popular ad campaign “Beef… It’s What’s for Dinner” hit the airwaves, back when a pound of ground beef averaged just $1.55.
Experts point to a shrinking U.S. cattle herd, worsened by drought and high feed costs. According to Ag Daily, the U.S. had 86.7 million cattle as of Jan. 1, 2025, the lowest count since 1951 and down 8% from 2019.
Local rancher Grant Talley says the supply issue starts on the ranches. “Beef is at one of its lowest levels since almost the ’60s. It takes years to rebuild herds.”
With fewer cattle, prices continue to rise, and rebuilding herds takes time.
“You're waiting on cows to get pregnant, have calves, and those calves to grow,” said Talley. “So I think this is probably going to stay like this for at least the next two or three years.”
Talley raises and sells grass-fed beef in Arroyo Grande through his company, Grant's Grass Fed and Finished Beef and says more ranchers are turning to direct-to-consumer sales to offset rising costs.
Still, consumers are adapting. “I’m not buying less meat, but I’m buying less of other things,” said Kelly Zaninovich of Tulare.
