2026 is upon us, and we are all hoping for a good year.
In agriculture, predicting what is going to happen with prices is similar to predicting the weather – throughout the years, it all seems to even out.
Once again, it looks like high cattle prices will be a top issue as cattle producers haven’t shown much movement to build up their herds. While there is information out there saying high beef prices will be around for the decade, producers are still rolling the dice and hoping it is true.
Positive news is that beef products are in high demand, both in the U.S. and abroad. U.S. beef is noted for its great taste and tenderness, and as consumers shop for protein, beef is at the top of the list.
This is substantiated by the July Meat Demand Monitor report which shows an increase in consumers’ willingness to pay for meat – especially beef – compared to last June. I would imagine, during the time of the year when people are making resolutions to start a healthy diet, this willingness is even stronger as they search for more sources of protein.
The report showed strong retail and food service demand with food service experiencing a higher improvement. This improvement was in beef, pork and chicken.
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University professor of agricultural economics, describes this as “meat having a moment.”
I’ll stress it again – in our nation’s ever-growing demand for meat, this healthy protein consumption leads the charge.
Tonsor says, “Taste and freshness are primary drivers of consumer choices, outranking price as the most important factors. While environmental concerns, origin traceability and animal welfare claims matter to a niche market – 10 to 20 percent of consumers – the majority of factors are more important than price. So, price matters. No economist can tell you price doesn’t matter, but it’s actually outranked by taste and freshness.”
Taste and freshness are regularly identified in the Meat Demand Monitor as the most common factors considered by the consumer when deciding whether or not to buy a meat protein item. I would guess freshness is an identifier of a healthier product.
This tells me we really don’t need mandatory country of origin labeling, but rather a voluntary label where the government isn’t telling producers what to do and bearing the responsibility of the cost.
Tonsor continues, “Ground beef price trends are more critical to monitor as an economic indicator compared to premium steak prices. High-end cuts like ribeye steaks are less affected by price fluctuations, primarily purchased by higher-income consumers who are less concerned about incremental price increases. In contrast, ground beef remains more sensitive to pricing.”
The U. S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service projects the estimated yearly consumption per person in 2026 is 13.6 pounds of turkey, 22.9 dozen eggs, 50.9 pounds of pork, 56.9 pounds of beef and 102.8 pounds of chicken.
The availability of all of these products will be more than in 2025 – except beef, which dropped a little. Chicken is projected to be the most available and will be the most consumed animal product in the U.S. in 2026.
I would hope this figure will change as cattle numbers and availability increase through the years.
Dennis Sun is the publisher of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup, a weekly agriculture newspaper available online and in print. For more information, visit www.wylr.net
