MOUNT VERNON — Although the price of many food items has increased in recent months, a report in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal noted that national meat prices have held steady because of the number of extra animals being culled by farmers to fight off the expense of high feed costs. The amount of culling is varying from place to place throughout the nation, and serves the dual purpose of eliminating animals that sooner or later would be culled from the herd, while at the same time saving on feed costs.
According to Knox County OSU Extension Agent Jeff McCutcheon, some extra culling is happening in Knox County, although just how much is hard to determine.
“Yes, it is happening,” McCutcheon said, adding that it is hard to say if it is deeper culling than usual or if farmers are simply thinning out the herd of animals already targeted for reduction. “So far, I have not heard of any large percentage culling.”
McCutcheon said that since last fall, he has been pointing it out as an option in his conversations with area farmers.
Culling is when livestock producers select animals to be removed from the herd for reasons such as health, age, attitude and production. A small percentage of every herd is customarily culled every year.
According to the USDA, choice steak cuts are going for a market rate of $4.12 per pound, down by 4 cents a pound from the same period last year. The deflation in meat costs is only likely to be temporary, however. Once the meat supply stabilizes in quantity, the high feed costs will filter down to the public, resulting in higher retail prices.
