America’s historic beef shortage may not ease anytime soon as the U.S. cattle herd remains at its lowest level in more than seven decades, keeping pressure on prices even as consumers continue to buy beef at elevated levels.
Omaha Steaks President and CEO Nate Rempe joined FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria” to discuss the supply challenges facing the beef industry and why meaningful price relief could still be years away. The discussion comes as retail beef prices reached a record $9.64 per pound in April, up 13% from a year earlier, according to USDA data.
While recent concerns have centered on the re-emergence of the screwworm parasite in parts of Texas and New Mexico, Rempe said the larger issue is its effect on cattle imports from Mexico, which account for roughly 4% to 5% of the U.S. live cattle market.
The bigger challenge, however, remains the size of the domestic herd.
“We’ve got to build the herd,” Rempe said. “If we can build the herd and we can build supply back up, then we can see beef prices come down.”
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Rempe noted that ranchers must retain more female cattle for breeding rather than sending them to market, a process that takes time and delays any meaningful increase in supply.
“As you know, we’re at a 72-year low,” Rempe said. “I think maybe last year when we talked, we were thinking we would see recovery in ’27, now we’re into ‘28, maybe even ’29 before we start seeing meaningful herd building happening.”
Those supply constraints have persisted even as consumer demand remains strong heading into key grilling holidays and summer gatherings.
“The demand is just not waning,” Rempe said.
That combination of limited supply and resilient demand has created an unusual market dynamic that continues to support higher prices.
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“I think the big question for economists and people thinking about the beef market and sort of retail beef in general is how long can that persist?” Rempe said. “How long can the supply stay constrained and demand stay high?”
The comments underscore the challenges facing beef producers as the industry works to rebuild the nation’s cattle herd from historically low levels.
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