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Story summary
- Beef prices hit $9.64 per pound in April, 13% above a year earlier.
- The herd was 86.2 million head on Jan. 1, smallest since 1951 and 9% below 2019 peak.
- Drought forced sale of breeding cows, creating a herd liquidation that will take years to reverse.
- Despite ribeye steaks near $22 per pound, Americans keep buying beef.
- A lean-trim shortage lifts prices while imports—about 20% of supply—may fall one pound this year.
