Mother Nature Takes Some Blame For Higher Beef Prices

DENVER (CBS4) - Most grocery shoppers have probably noticed beef costs more these days, and Mother Nature is partly to blame.

Whether it's hamburger, veal or filet mignon, the Colorado beef industry is predicting higher prices by year's end.

The drought in Texas has been devastating to cattle ranchers.

"It just sort of makes you feel helpless because you don't know what to do, plus the fact there's not a whole lot you can do," a Texas rancher told CBS News.

The pastures are brown and deserted, leaving cows without food. The beef industry is expecting to be down tens of millions of pounds of meat in grocery stores across America by year's end.

"Cow herd is down; it's been exponentially down in every state year over year and really the drought in Texas is exponential because it's so widespread and there are so many cows in the state," Terry Fankhauser with the Colorado Cattlemen's Association said.

At the Colorado Cattleman's Headquarters the talk is that Texas cattle troubles aren't limited to Texas consumers.

"When we see that level of impact obviously there's going to be some short-term and long-term effect on the consumer," Fankhauser said.

Hamburger chains like Griff's have already seen higher wholesale meat prices and anticipate having to increase hamburger prices in the near future.

"The Texas cattle shortage will affect us. I don't know that it really will affect the short-term or (be) more of a long-term issue," Fankhauser said.