Feeder Cattle prices are up 24.34% while Live Cattle prices have risen 17.53% year to date. Meanwhile, cattle slaughter is down 8.4% indicating a decline in available cattle to process as ranchers weigh rebuilding herds against profit taking while beef prices are high. Currently, herds are at their smallest since 1951. Although beef imports surged 60% in May, tariffs, Mexican border issues, and New World Screwworm leave import question marks. Consumer demand for beef increased by 7% in 2025 even with ground beef prices at $6+ per pound and steak near $11.50 per pound. Positive consumer wages have allowed for summer beef appetites to continue. Historically, beef prices have taken big dips after robust gains, and some analysts wonder if history can repeat this trend.
Climate Change Makes Nor’easter Beasts
As much of the US broils in record hot temps, a different weather phenomenon has shown changes due to global warming. The U.S. East Coast and the Canadian Atlantic Coast continue to be bombarded annually by Nor’easters. Arctic air masses bump up against air warmed by higher ocean temperatures and the two forces meet over land. While the systems develop near Georgia and New Jersey, they reach maximum intensity in New England and Canadian Maritime Provinces. The storms threaten densely populated cities including New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. Major storms can cause loss of life, billions of dollars in damage with disruption to the economy, transportation stoppages, and coastal flooding.
Storms are supercharged by climate change caused by pollution. Although the number of storms has decreased with Arctic warming leading to less temperature contrast, storms have increased in intensity. In addition, Arctic warming has stretched the polar vortex to let cold polar air spill southward more frequently. Since 1940 a 6% increase in wind speed has equated to a 20% increase in destructive potential and a 10% increase in precipitation. The rain increase is due to more water evaporation with the rising warm ocean temperatures. Warming leads to less snowfall annually but more intense heavy storms and cold snaps. As sea levels have risen, additional coastal flooding accompanies storms.
Major Nor’easters have blasted the coast through the years. The 1962 Ash Wednesday storm caused tens of billions of dollars in economic loss. Worse, the 1993 “Storm of the Century” produced 100 mph winds and 60 inches of snow leading to more than 200 deaths while “Snowmageddon” in 2010 left 20 inches of snow and 41 deaths.