Supply Disruptions...Hogs

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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.....


Exactly!!
I gave up on Wings, before I ever started---Been all bones & Skin forever, and Legs & Thighs have been cheaper for a long time!!

Bear
 
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....


Exactly!!
I remember before the last time they raised the Minimum Wage. The ones who wanted people to work for Peanuts threatened that the Fast food joints would have to raise prices or lay off & make some things Self Service.
Then the day after they raised the Minimum Wage, all of the Fast Food Joints in my area had Help Wanted signs in every window & door.
Business was booming & they were hiring!!

Bear
 
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.

Good deal. At Costco their Swift butt was $2.49/lb. today.
 
I was not intending for this thread to go off on a tangent with the labor market, nor the politics involved. Just a heads up on rising prices because of a artificially constrained market due to Covid shutdowns. Which is another tangent....whether you believe they were the right thing to do or are convinced shutting down the economy was the wrong,fact remains there were repercussions economically. This is one of them....
 
As Indaswamp said let's not get into politics anymore than this thread has already went. Many of you are talking politics but not seeing any mention of the high costs of feed and those prices have gone crazy as well.
I looked at wings a couple weeks ago at a local grocery store and quickly decided legs or thighs cook up just fine and as was said a lot more meat on them. Have a friend with 2 teenage boys he decided awhile back with the way they ate wings thighs were the way to go for them :emoji_laughing:
 
Once it cools down, and if I can get the chance, I'll go pop about about 3-4 wild hogs and stock up on about 200 pounds of deboned pork and give some away to family. Plenty of them tasty wild bastards running around Texas :D
 
Once it cools down, and if I can get the chance, I'll go pop about about 3-4 wild hogs and stock up on about 200 pounds of deboned pork and give some away to family. Plenty of them tasty wild bastards running around Texas :D
It's times like these that I appreciate all the wild game we have in the freezers, along with the 120-150# of feral hog meat. I also have a lot of domestic hog left from the hog I butchered in Feb. 2021. The fat is not good for making salami, so I will be making smoke sausage with it and mixing some with the deer we harvest this fall for fresh sausage.

I bought 2-3 pork bellies @ Costco back in April/May for a decent price and will be making bacon when the weather cools off...
 
It's times like these that I appreciate all the wild game we have in the freezers, along with the 120-150# of feral hog meat. I also have a lot of domestic hog left from the hog I butchered in Feb. 2021. The fat is not good for making salami, so I will be making smoke sausage with it and mixing some with the deer we harvest this fall for fresh sausage.

I bought 2-3 pork bellies @ Costco back in April/May for a decent price and will be making bacon when the weather cools off...
I hear ya. I need to work down my little stand up freezer and have it prepped for all that wild hog meat I hope to get.
The holy grail for me is to knock down a "fairly clean" giant hog and grind that whole sucker. Scoring 275-300lb hogs yield about 100lbs of ground in one porker!!! Add some pork fat and boom a freezer full of franks, brats, italian sausage, and breakfast sausage!

I'm hopeful I can get back to the hunt. Laster year my hunting had to be put aside due to COVID craziness and this year is all make up for last year's craziness so my hunting will be purely when/if the opportunity comes. I'm eyeballing next year to get back into the regular groove. Had 10yrs straight of excellent hunting until the world fell apart.
I'll get back to it though, I just gotta continue to be patient :D
 
Nowhere in the US media are they talking about the 800 pound hog in the room. That is the Chinese pork market. Here are some items that may help give a broader picture of what is really going on. Not that the factors listed previously aren't contributing to the high prices.

1) China owns Smithfield foods; the largest pork producer in the USA
2) China has had a market shortage for months because of a swine flu outbreak in mainland China
3) China is exporting pork from the USA to China to fill their demand and then screwing it to America with shortages and high prices
4) The swine flu problem should be fixed and herd replacements should be achieved by late this year or early next year in China
5) Look for pork prices to start dropping in the first or second quarter of 2022

JC :emoji_cat:
 
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I’ve seen it several times.
When politics hit the food forums instant enemies are made, people get kicked out and non-American members severely dump on the USA.

It’s been a tough past 20 months and it’ll all settle down in time.
I’d wager a glazed donut we’re all barely 1 degree apart in our takes.
 
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I’ve seen it several times.
When politics hit the food forums instant enemies are made, people get kicked out and non US members severely dump on the USA.

It’s been a tough past 20 months and it’ll all settle down in time.
I’d wager a glazed donut we’re all barely 1 degree apart in our takes.

I agree. I hate talking any politics on this forum. Food is supposed to bring us together not drive us apart. The evil specter of food politics is looming too large too ignore at present.

These food prices have completely hamstrung my summer BBQ plans.

I am not dumping on the USA or bagging on China. The situation is causing a lot of folks pain and at the same time making a few folks very wealthy.

I am simply looking forward to the logistics logjam breaking, pandemic labor disruptions smoothing, and overall reduced services and goods becoming available. I am hoping that we are not entering into a long term era of scarcity.

Lastly, I am only looking to make friends here.

JC :emoji_cat:
 
Ribs are still through the roof.
Yup . Ribs went back up here too . Spares came down for a couple weeks , but back up .
I go every week . That really tells whats going on . You can track pricing at the point of sale and see what the cycles are .
 
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Sales for butts @ $0.99/# use to be a common and regular. Not anymore. I've been watching the digital fliers to get a perception of where the new price floor will be. Been seeing a lot of 1.89-1.67 prices....just last night saw $1.49 so I'm going grab some double packs for tasso, snack sticks, and smoke sausage.
 
Got two stores around here this week butts on sale $.99lb a one and $1.19lb at the other. Ribs are still through the roof.
Same here at Food Lion $.99 lb and ribs $2.99..
No freezer space so getting a 2 pack to cook them freeze in portions (learned that here ) .
 
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Made a late run to GFS today . The delivery comes sometime Weds. night so I go on Thursday around 9:00 . Got there around noon today , and the best priced stuff was gone , or they didn't get any .
The cheap no name chicken parts that were $ .79 a pound last week are $1.19 now .
The 3 rack pack of spares were $3.50 last week , came down to $2.29 .

They did have Smithfield pork butts for $1.79 a pound so I grabbed a couple . They've been at $2.29 for awhile now .
So looks like chicken is on the rise . Just have to watch for what drops in price . Something will .
 
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