INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Indiana Beef Cattle Association said prices are 10% – 15% higher for beef over the past two years.

Brian Shuter, executive vice president of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association, said there are a variety of factors causing the increase, including a large amount of people getting out of the farming business.

“There have been huge droughts out west that have really cut into supplies out there,” said Shuter. “We have seen a lot of liquidation of the cowherd out in the western states.”

Shuter said a fire in Texas and an increase in the cost of feed are also contributing to the price increase. At the same time, consumer demand for beef products has not cooled off.

“Trucking is expensive,” said Shuter. “All of the input costs that go into raising a bushel of corn have gone up. Fertilizer costs our producers are seeing have sometimes quadrupled.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation says beef costs could continue to rise well into 2024, and those costs are also being passed along to customers who dine out.

Shuter is a fourth generation farmer. Shuter and other farmers enjoy what they do, but like any business, if they don’t make a profit, they can’t pay their bills.

“It’s still a business,” said Shuter. “We still have to pay our bills and we still have to make money or there won’t be anyone there producing the food.”

Prices are also going up because farmers are selling off their heifer cows to make a profit, rather than hanging on to them for breeding purposes.