I know this will piss some of you off, but too bad. The high beef prices are due to severe drought in the US.
Check out Texas:
White areas - ok.
Yellow areas : Abnormally Dry
Orange areas : SEVERE drought
Red areas : EXTREME drought
Dark Red : "Exceptional Drought".
United States Drought Monitor > Home > State Drought Monitor
Next, the Fracking companies, all over the place but against especially in Texas, are sucking up what water is left.
Fracking is depleting water supplies in America's driest areas, report shows | Environment | The Guardian
But what do I know. Climate and science denying redneck good ol' boys trumps liberals any day of the week, right?