Supply Disruptions...Hogs

[indaswamp]

US hog herds experienced the most significant monthly drop in two decades, according to new data from the USDA. The reason behind the drop is because farmers decreased hog-herd development over the last year due to labor disruptions at slaughterhouses plus high animal feed.

USDA data showed the US hog herd was 3.9% lower in August than a year ago. It was the largest monthly drop since 1999 after analysts only expected a decline of about 1.7%

To sum up, shrinking hog herds means pork prices will stay high.

You find a good sale, better get it now....
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/us-hog-herd-hit-largest-monthly-drop-1999

Word is the chicken supply is in even worse shape...wish i knew that before I ate here:

Went to a Quaker State restaurant this past weekend. Spent all day saturday helping my brother swap out the engine in his old dodge truck. Not up for cooking that night, so we ate out. His choice of restaurants. Got the menu and chicken wings were marked "at market price". First time I have EVER seen that for chicken...thought nothing of it....and order a dozen wings with a fountain drink. Got the check, $25.56!!! I was stunned...holey crap! For damn chicken wings!!!

 

[mike243]

Prices are getting bad at restaurants due to folks not wanting to work and the owners saying pay the price if you want to eat here, lotta lazy folks that eat out every meal and will pay the price

 

[mr_whipple]

Yep... keep working harder. Someone else wants to give someone else your money.

 

[indaswamp]

1/4# hamburger with FF was $8.99, which I thought reasonable. Had I known ....or asked the bartender what the price was before I ordered; I would have got the hamburger.

But I do get your point about the labor angle...

 

[Chasdev]

News bulletin, people are leaving low paying jobs and switching over to better paying jobs.
Then places that don't offer higher pay complain about lazy workers.
Workers complain about working too many hours and not being able to afford rent or food for their kids, not to mention car payments, fuel for same ect.....
And still I read about places that offer living wages having no trouble finding or keeping workers, lazyness must be regional.
I'm heading out to stock the freezer today, thanks for the heads up!

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

3 sides at COSTCO were $28 to $32 for years up to earlier this year. Same thing today is $68 to $72.
I suspect their sales are slow since Labor Day weekend. Unaffordable. The reach-ins are full and COSTCO has been slammed with customers all week long.

Ellis Island Casino restaurant in Vegas serves a full side for $15!
I'll check that out next week. Supposed to be good but could be skin and bone like they serve at Fridays.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I don't see chicken wings in store anymore.

 

[xbubblehead]

I'm getting into Tofu and Vegetable grilling and smoking. I haven't been able to afford beef in months and now pork and poultry are joining that list. Going to Sam's Club this morning to see if I can afford a pork butt to cut into steaks and pulled pork, probably my last shot at it.

 

[sawhorseray]

Since I got my Vortex about a year ago I started doing yardbird legs instead of wings, more meat less money. Yesterday at Sam's legs were 92¢ a pound, I'm stocked up. RAY

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

To think that this time last year, ranchers were killing hogs and beef then just dumping the carcasses because Covid shutdown the processors.

 

[xbubblehead]

Update: Sam's Club has Pork Butt for $1.67/lb, if you have one near you might want to get over there. I got one that I'll cut steaks off the end and use the rest for pulled pork.

 

[mneeley490]

Yeah, I've stopped buying beef and pork. I still have a good supply in my freezer that I'm raiding. Local Fred Meyer store (owned by Kroger) had whole chickens for $.88 lb. this week, so I stocked up on that.

 

[chopsaw]

legs were 92¢ a pound,

whole chickens for $.88 lb.

Just for my own info , are the chickens a brand name ?
$.99 a pound for Tyson whole chickens and legs is a good price around here .
About 2 weeks ago GFS had legs and thighs for $.79 a pound . So I grabbed a several trays . These just said " Chicken " on the package . Not a brand name .
Cooked some legs first . They were tough and chewy . Now I can cook some chicken parts , but I blamed myself . It happens .
Next cook was some of the no brand thighs . Same result . Tough and stringy meat . I'm thinking the low price no brand stuff is the problem . They must have cut up some stewing hens to make up for a shortage .

 

[nchapelheel]

Whole pork loin was 1.99 per pound at Wegmans in Chapel Hill, NC. I bought one and it is in cure to make Canadian bacon.

 

[rjob]

Chart is published weekly. Good guide for price trends. When viewing chart additional columns are available to the right depending on viewing screen. Year ago price and % increase.

Weekly Pork Price Summary - Pork Checkoff

See wholesale pork pricing by cut for this week from the USDA.

www.porkcheckoff.org

 

[SmokyMose]

I gave up on wings when the price for a tray of Tyson was almost $20 a few weeks ago.
Legs, thighs and breasts are higher but still more reasonable (for now anyway).
Same with most pork, higher but there are sales. Beef is through the roof and has been for a while.
I don't see it getting better anytime soon.....

 

[SmokyMose]

News bulletin, people are leaving low paying jobs and switching over to better paying jobs.
Then places that don't offer higher pay complain about lazy workers.
Workers complain about working too many hours and not being able to afford rent or food for their kids, not to mention car payments, fuel for same ect.....
And still I read about places that offer living wages having no trouble finding or keeping workers, lazyness must be regional.
I'm heading out to stock the freezer today, thanks for the heads up!

You're onto something there, Chasdev.
Employers say they can't get help and it is more of a problem today, but they want to pay the same wages they paid over a year ago.
I used to have to explain to execs when they complained about my not having enough help
that you couldn't get good people for $12 or $13 an hour like when they were doing it.
I was starting people at $15 to $17 three years ago, caught hell for it and still couldn't keep help.
Yes, prices go up as wages go up but there's a reason. They're intertwined and it's been going on forever.
So glad I'm retired and out of that rat race....

 

[xbubblehead]

You're onto something there, Chasdev.
Employers say they can't get help and it is more of a problem today, but they want to pay the same wages they paid over a year ago.
I used to have to explain to execs when they complained about my not having enough help
that you couldn't get good people for $12 or $13 an hour like when they were doing it.
I was starting people at $15 to $17 three years ago, caught hell for it and still couldn't keep help.
Yes, prices go up as wages go up but there's a reason. They're intertwined and it's been going on forever.
So glad I'm retired and out of that rat race....

So from a consumer's perspective I suppose we want to keep wages as low as possible! I know wages have increased and wage demands are also, partly due to paying so much for people not to work, but I can't believe a 10-15% (I think that's a large overestimate) increase in wages results in 40-60%+ increase in prices. Perhaps each worker processes one or two pieces per hour?

 

[BB-que]

You find a good sale, better get it now....
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/us-hog-herd-hit-largest-monthly-drop-1999

Word is the chicken supply is in even worse shape...wish i knew that before I ate here:

Went to a Quaker State restaurant this past weekend. Spent all day saturday helping my brother swap out the engine in his old dodge truck. Not up for cooking that night, so we ate out. His choice of restaurants. Got the menu and chicken wings were marked "at market price". First time I have EVER seen that for chicken...thought nothing of it....and order a dozen wings with a fountain drink. Got the check, $25.56!!! I was stunned...holey crap! For damn chicken wings!!!

It’s too damn bad - and I know rightfully so this is a politics free forum thank god but you now have 5 years of terrible fiscal policy causing mass inflation and worker shortages. Last admin artificially kept interest rates low in order to artificially prop up the stock market and people’s savings - the problem with that is it also causes big inflation down the road, which we’re now seeing especially in essential items like food. And now you have free money for all. Perfect storm of 2 terms of short sighted policy and we all get left with a dollar that ain’t worth shit. Rant over

 

[SmokyMose]

So from a consumer's perspective I suppose we want to keep wages as low as possible! I know wages have increased and wage demands are also, partly due to paying so much for people not to work, but I can't believe a 10-15% (I think that's a large overestimate) increase in wages results in 40-60%+ increase in prices. Perhaps each worker processes one or two pieces per hour?

It's just people/corporations using it as an excuse to raise their prices.
Also been going on forever.
Remember when fuel prices went way up and trucking/shipping companies added a "fuel surcharge" to every invoice?
Caught on like wildfire and never went away....