BELTON, Texas (KXXV) — Rising beef prices are creating two very different realities at the Central Texas State Fair in Belton — ranchers are seeing strong returns at the sale barn, while food vendors are struggling to keep up with costs that have more than doubled in recent years.
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For ranchers, the high prices have been a welcome boost.
"It's been very beneficial and real nice when you take cattle to the sale barn," Kenzie Hobbs said.
But those gains come with a longer-term concern. Many producers are selling off older cows to cash in on high prices rather than keeping them to rebuild their herds. That trend is contributing to declining cattle numbers across Central Texas.
"Whenever you take them to the sale barn, it's great… but a lot of cattle ranches are getting depleted because they are selling off at the good prices," Sandy Travis said.
Food vendors at the fair are experiencing the impact from the other side. The rising cost of beef is becoming increasingly difficult to absorb.
"Our margins are cut in half… unless we raise our prices and of course when you raise your prices you lose customers," Robert Daniel, owner of Pizza PieRos, said.
"It's given us no choice but to take some stuff off the menu and raise our prices… it comes to a point where we're all out here trying to make a living, and you just can't unless you raise the prices," Michael Mays, owner of What the Truck, said.
Some vendors say certain beef products have more than doubled in price over the past few years. Many businesses are trying to absorb as much of the increase as possible to avoid driving customers away.
"We know how people are kind of struggling right now… really we're just looking out for the people," Julius Lowe, an employee of Lowes Legs, said.
The U.S. cattle inventory remains at its lowest level since the 1950s, driven by prolonged drought and high operating costs.
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