Source: USDA, JOHN OTTE, BEEF PRODUCERS, 3/6/14

USDA forecasts the five-area steer price for 2014 will average $132 to $140 per hundredweight, up from 2013's record average of $125.89. As fed cattle supplies shrink in 2014, cattle prices should continue to climb. So will retail beef prices, which may well bring more consumer resistance to higher prices. 

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