Cull cow prices have hit a record high as beef imports and the national cowherd continue to dwindle. Last week culled cows were bringing $63 cwt. This is nearly $10 higher than the five year average for this time of year. Although dairy cow slaughter is down four percent f rom last year’s subsidized liquidation, beef cow slaughter is up 10 percent. This is surprising as pasture conditions around the country are the best seen in many years. Equally surprising is the increase in heifers going to slaughter. Heifer placements were second only to September of 1997 and the first four months of 2010 have averaged the highest percentage of heifers placed since 1998. This heifer slaughter pretty well ensures an continuing decline in cow numbers next year.

Roam Artisan Burgers will open its first restaurant in San Francisco in late May or early June. The restaurant emphasizes a "pasture to plate" theme and promises to serve nothing but 100 percent grassfed beef burgers, free-range turkey and all-natural bison plus organic milkshakes, house-made sodas and wine. The restaurant will be located on Union Street in Pacific Heights. Roam will offer lunch and dinner in a casual, counter-order setting.

Prices for all meat products are expected to be high this summer due to increased exports and the lingering effects of high grain prices in 2008 according to Bloomberg News. Pork and beef prices have returned to their July and August 2008 levels and chicken’s gain was the most in 20 months. Analysts expect domestic meat to drop to a 13 year low in 2010. "Consumers are going to see the highest prices they’ve ever paid in meat and poultry because of the decisions made to make corn into ethanol," said Steve Meyer, a meat industry analyst in Des Moines, Iowa. The USA now has the fewest hogs in 47 years and the fewest cattle in 51 years. In 2009, food prices fell for the first time since 1961 due to the recession. With national unemployment still near 10 percent, low demand could put a top in meat prices sooner rather than later despite the low numbers. So far, supermarkets have been holding the line on beef and pork wholesale price rises and narrowing their margins. Ethanol producers plan to take an even larger slice of the corn crop this year. In 2009, one third of America’s corn crop went for ethanol production. "The key question is if the US economy is strong enough to sustain higher grocery store prices for meat," said Ron Plain with the University of Missouri.

Forty butchers were detained for charging prices in excess of those allowed by the Venezuelan government in early May according to CNBC. com. Currently the government only allows beef to be sold for $4.00 a kilogram and the butchers are having to pay $3 a kilogram for it, leaving next to nothing for the butchers to cover their overhead costs. The Chavez government has imposed price controls on many basic foods to combat "savage capitalism." Live cattle prices have remained unchanged since 2008 even though the country has the highest inflation rate in Latin America. Venezuela was self-sufficient in beef in 2003 but now has to import 52 percent of its annual consumption. The national cowherd has dropped from 13.5 million head in 1998 to 12 million this year. The government recently announced it would increase imports from Brazil from 30,000 pounds a month to 50,000 pounds while it plans to expropriate abattoirs at home.

Research by Sydney University in Australia has found that healthy soil bacteria in well managed grasslands absorb more methane per day than a cow produces in a year. Professor Mark Adams, agricultural sustainability researcher and Dean of Agriculture at Sydney University told Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the findings are "a good news story and the farming community needs good news stories." Adams said, "...we can say that grazing is a methane neutral or even methane positive land use." He said in organically rich, well drained, well structured soils there were lots of bacteria willing to do this methane absorption work. This Australian research was reported in In Practice newsletter.

A survey by Cornucopia Institute of organic beef producers found that 80% of organic producers do not confine their cattle to feedlots. Of these, 60 percent feed no grain at all and 20% feed some supplemental grain on pasture. The remainder use the standard industrial model of confinement feeding. Cornucopia said that many organic consumers would be surprised to learn that not all organic beef is grassfed and has proposed that the new USDA Organic label make the production practices of the producer clear to the consumer. Therefore, Cornucopia proposed three labels for USDA organic beef. They are: "Organic- Grain Finished," "Organic- Pasture /Grain Finished," and " Organic - 100% Grassfed." "We think the three-tier labeling system will help farmers and ranchers better develop their markets and consumers will gain transparency and choice in their consumption of organic meat," said Mark Kastel of Cornucopia.