Beefed up; How local restaurants and meat companies are dealing with the rise of beef prices
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Grilling season is upon us. While out at the grocery store to get some ground beef to throw on the grill, you might've noticed prices are high.
According to the Bureau of Labor, the average price of ground chuck, 100% beef, is up to $6.92 a pound.
Local meat producers tell KRDO13 there are a couple of reasons for that.
"We've lost almost 10 million cows out of the national herd, and we're just out of meat," Mike Callicrate, the owner of Ranch Foods Direct, told KRDO13. Callicrate says we haven't had a lower number of cows in the country since 1951.
This chart from the USDA backs up that claim. In week 19 of this year, the USDA graded, or processed, 390,206 slaughtered cows. In 2025, that number was 435,578; roughly 45,000 more cows. In 2026, that number was 473,563; roughly 100,000 more cows.
Part of the reason why Callicrate says smaller ranchers are leaving the business is the rising price of everything, from the gas used to transport meat to the plastic used to keep it fresh, and the weather hasn't helped. Callicrate says grass fires in Nebraska and Texas in recent years have decimated open fields used to feed cattle.
Local restaurants haven't been able to skirt high prices either.
"When we first started this skirted heifer, we were paying just over $4 a pound in 2014. Even in 2024, I was paying $6 per pound, and now I'm officially paying $8 a pound," Kevin Megyeri, the owner of the Skirted Heifer, said. Megyeri said that the price increase of beef, along with similar increases in price for tomatoes and other veggies, has contributed to really thin profit margins for the burger joint.
"I'm petrified of raising my menu prices because I know if I'm feeling it, I know my consumers are too. It's one of those things that I know at the end of the day, I need to do," Megyeri said.
What's the solution?
There doesn't seem to be a quick fix. Callicrate says a healthier U.S.-based meat market would help, while importing cheap beef from across the globe wouldn't fix the root problem.
"[Importing beef] is not the answer, because that is not going to allow for us as a U.S. cattle producer, to recover and to rebuild the herd if we continue to bring in all this cheap stuff from other countries," Callicrate said.
Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.
