Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-30
EVERYBODY SEEKS
CHOICE BEEF CUT
High Price of Meat Due to
Americans Wanting "0nly
the TenderIoin."

Special Dispatch to The Star.

NEW YORK. July 30.-The choice
cut of beef thrown on the butcher
scales today is selling at almost the
top price since war days. This Is re-
stricting the number of people who go
to the butcher shop for beef Some OF
the advance is blamed on the high
price of beef cattle. Beef steers TO-DAY
are selling in the neighborhood OF
$l6,40 to $l675 a hundred pounds or
more. But the real reason for the
high cost is the unwillingness OF the
American public to buy or eat anything
but the choicest cuts,
The price of beef in the shops, tax
ing the carcass as whole, is not
unduly high compared with the price OF
beef on the hoof But customers are
paying as high as 80 cents a pound
for porterhouse cuts, with sirloin and
T-bones in proportions. Beef steers are
IS per cent higher than a year ago.
but the cuts not quite so choice as those
named above are selling at compar~
atively reasonable prices The dealers
declare that If the best is none too
good for the consumer, the price is not
eXorbitant.
Pay Much for Animals.
The packers contend they are paying
at the rate of $3.50 or more for the
animals on the hoof, live weight. AT
least third of this weight cannot be
used fox food purposes. The packers
count on one fifth of a cent pound
on the meat of each carcass. They de-
clare the cost to the retailer or dis
tributor of side of beef has been IN the
neighborhood of 20 cents pound.
There are only so many porterhouSe
and sirloin steaks in each carcass. III
the public will not buy the round and
chuck steaks. the rib roasts and plate
beef, the cost of those products must
be added to the cuts they will take.
Large numbers of cattle were mar
keted from the farms last year. This
means that there are fewer animals
TO be sent to market from the feed
lots this year Moreover. the prices for
hay, corn and oats are from to 40
per cent higher than they were year
ago This induces many farmers to
market direct rather than turn their
forage crops into meat
The range cattle men have been
overstocked for years and have been
in a most precarious situation financial
~. This has forced many of them to de-
pIete their herds of breeding cattle and
has reduced the amount Of marketable
beef steers. The cattlemen. now that
they are out of the woods financially,
are building up the herds again and
holding back animals from market to
do so.
Situation Is Temporary.
This situation. of course, is merely
temporary The ranges are in fine shape
and the cattle came through last VIM
ter in splendid condition. 1t VIII be
only a comparatively short while until
the supply of beef animals Is again
built up to level with demand. Until
that time however, meat prices seem
likely to continue high. They will be
higher yet unless the public can be
induced TO substitute some of the
cheaper cuts for the choice tid-bits
now selling at such extraordinary
prices.
The high cost of beef is turning buy
ers toward the smoked and preserved
meats and to the pork products. Pack
ers are doing we'll in these lines and
have registered profit on the big
stocks of pork products which accurlu-
lated during the Spring. There has
been an increase in hog marketings for
the year as a whole. as compared with
1927, but the stocks accumulated nave
not been extraordinarily heavy.
Higher prices are anticipated Tor
hogs and consequently for pork for the
next two years. since the supply of hogs
in the next IL months Is expected to
be considerably less than in the last
year.