SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Cookouts are bringing people together this Memorial Day weekend, but they’re more costly now than ever. Record-high beef prices are challenging both consumers and producers nationwide.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the national average cost of ground beef per pound reached $6.90, nearly a dollar more than it cost just last year. Sirloin steak prices rose by nearly $2.50 from a year ago and sit at a national average cost of $14.73 per pound.
Ranchers are concerned with the prices. Craig Bieber is an independent rancher from Leola and the President of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association…