Shoppers might experience some sticker shock when they see the price of beef at their local grocery store.
“The prices are definitely a little higher than what they’ve been in the past,” admitted Jack Chaffe, a southwestern Ontario feedlot operator.
According to Statistics Canada, the average cost for a kilogram of ground beef is currently $13. Four years ago, it was selling for $10 a kilogram.
Sirloin steak, meanwhile, is now roughly $22 a kilogram – up from $6 in 2016.
“The pricing was just unbelievable,” said shopper Wayne MacLean. “I mean, you get three little pieces of steak and you’re paying, you know, $55 to $60.”
And it’s not just shoppers feeling burned.
Ontario farmers and butchers are facing their own uphill battle to stay in the game.
“Likely the biggest thing is the investment in feeder cattle and the feed part,” Chaffe explained. “A lot of capital tied up in our operation.”.
Farmers say the …