‘Crazy’ increase in beef prices squeeze Maine farmers 

But they’re growing their herd more slowly than they’d like because of the effects years of record-breaking high beef prices have had in Maine since the pandemic. That makes it more expensive and risky to buy animals and sell beef even for primarily dairy-focused farmers like Beem, on top of other rising costs squeezing the state’s farmers.

At the same time, demand for local food including beef is continuing to grow and present new opportunities, multiple Maine producers said – if they can stay afloat without raising their own prices beyond what customers will accept.

The Consumer Price Index recorded the highest national prices ever for ground beef in January after months of continued growth, at  $6.75 per pound in the average U.S. city. That’s up 17.2% from last year and 0.5% from December. Data isn’t broken down by state, but selections at a Hannaford in Hancock County this week ranged from $5.49 on sale to more than $10 per pound.

During the pandemic, demand grew while major slaughterhouses closed, pushing prices up. The U.S. also has fewer beef cattle right now than ever before, and it takes about two years for them to reach market weight, meaning changing that takes time.

“It has just gotten crazier and crazier,” said Dan Kaplan, owner of Heartstone Farms in Charleston.

Since he started raising beef cattle 11 years ago, he’s grown a subscription model business that ships about a thousand boxes of meat each week to customers from his farm and others.

Kaplan buys a 100 to 150 “feeder” calves each season that he raises to market size, a common practice for farmers selling beef. Buying an 800-pound steer cost him just over a dollar per pound five years ago. Now, it’s $3.67.

“We have to buy it at that…but the meat doesn’t have that value that can be passed on to the consumer,” he said, which is what’s squeezing his business.

He increased subscription box prices in January, he said, and probably should have raised them higher. Local producers already typically charge more than supermarkets, which can afford to take some loss on items like meat.  

It’s also costly to raise cattle in Maine, where long winters require buying more feed for longer – which doesn’t translate into added weight and eventual profit. The state doesn’t have many large scale beef operations, so Kaplan buys many feeders from the South.

With the majority of the country’s cattle industry concentrated in large lots and processors out of state, Kaplan and other farmers he knows feel powerless over these market factors.

“We’re all small enough that there’s not a lot we can do about it other than shake our heads and say, ‘This is nuts,’” he said.

Farmers like him who buy stock from other farms said they imagine farmers focused on producing calves for sale are benefitting.

But Trey Gilbert, who processes about 3,000 cattle each year for farmers at Herring Brothers Meats in Guilford, said in his experience, nobody seems to be making more money.

He keeps his own 200 to 300 feeder calves throughout the year, and his family owns a retail store selling beef products. They raised prices there recently too; like Kaplan, he said the increase could have been higher, but he doesn’t want to ask more than customers will pay.

Rising beef costs have also hit their ability to replace stock on the farm, he said, and he’s just breaking even on some feeders. Animals that cost $200 a few years ago are now around $800.

There are also fewer people raising beef cattle, and they can typically get higher prices by selling at auction to out of state buyers. Costs also are going up for equipment, labor and feed, the latter of which is running out for some farmers Gilbert knows following a summer drought.

Maine lost about 6% of its beef-producing farms between 2017 and 2022, from 1,141 to 1,107, according to the latest agricultural census.

Gilbert said farmers actually make more money when prices are lower, because margins are the same but customers buy more.

“If anything, we are going to get worse before it gets better, in my opinion,” he said – and that’s if people continue raising animals. He hears that other farmers are struggling with costs, some getting out of farming entirely.

In Palmyra, Beem and Trebilcock said growing their herd slowly isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and it’s a good time to be selling livestock. On the other hand, the higher costs make buying new animals riskier for them right now.

“What was an easier decision is now more difficult with the price,” Trebilcock said.

Someone recently asked them if they’d sell calves this year, but they need to keep them to grow their herd. And, they said, they don’t want to charge $1,000 at market price to someone they know.

In Trebilcock’s view, there’s never a good or bad time to buy cattle; if a farmer has to, then they have to, she said. It’s also hard to know what’s totally true when it comes to numbers, she said, recommending people find out about conditions themselves to make decisions for their individual needs.

“I think everybody who is farming should have at least an idea of the market and where it’s going to make those decisions in a healthy way,” she said.