Drought and Staffing Shortages Drive Up Beef Prices in Upper Valley

In the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont, beef prices have been steadily rising due to increased production costs and a drought, forcing restaurants and farms to adjust their prices and strategies to cope with the increased costs.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Tom Liang, owner of Han Fusion, an Asian restaurant in Hanover, would buy cases of beef at about $5 per pound.

Today, he pays just over double that price, a notable increase, especially in the past few months during which prices have jumped from $8 to $11 a pound.

Liang’s held off on changing the prices on the menu for now, but if costs continue to rise, “we really can’t keep the price the same,” he said.

Like most food products, the cost of beef at the wholesale and retail level has been on a steady climb since the pandemic due to rising cost of production and a nationwide drought that’s contributed to a dip in feed supply, forcing many farmers to sell off their stock of beef cattle.

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As of July, the cost of ground beef was $6.25 per pound, according to Federal Reserve data, which is the highest it’s been since the Department of Labor began charting beef prices in the 1980s.

In the Upper Valley, restaurateurs like Liang have been feeling the pinch of rising costs. A region-wide drought and staffing shortages at an area slaughterhouse have put farms in a bind as well.

Brandon Fox, who owns Big Fatty’s BBQ in White River Junction, said that the cost of beef has gone up $1 to $2 per pound in the past couple of weeks.

Fox normally sources his meat through Sysco, US Foods and Black River Produce, a purveyor based out of North Springfield, Vt. that belongs to parent company Performance Food Group, based in Richmond, Va.

To accommodate the rise in the cost of beef, the restaurant has slightly increased the prices of brisket, burnt ends and ribs, Fox said. Other restaurants, such as Poor House Bar-B-Q in Canaan, have noticed the rise in cost of beef too, but owner Dan Jameson isn’t very fazed. “It’s common” for prices to fluctuate, he said, noting that the hike in the cost of beef isn’t unlike the spike in egg prices earlier this year, though less drastic.