In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays features comments with Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Glynn Tonsor of Kansas State about new Meat Demand Monitor data and whether heightened political and economic discussion around beef prices may be influencing consumers.
Looking at November data, Tonsor notes a clear softening in consumers’ willingness to pay for meat across proteins. “There was a decline in demand for this measure, willingness to pay for meat items, and it didn’t matter which protein we’re looking at,” he said, adding that demand weakened both at retail and in food service compared to October. While beef demand was still up year over year, it declined month over month, while pork demand fell both month over month and year over year.
Tonsor points to broader economic stress as a key driver behind the numbers. “We have even fewer people saying our finances have improved compared to a year ago, and I think that is putting some pessimism on their general budget,” he explained, calling it a clear headwind for meat demand in November. He also acknowledged that public discussion about beef prices late in October may have played a role.
“I don’t want to make this political,” Tonsor said, “but there was elevated interest in the beef industry the third week of October… and it’s possible that price became front of mind for consumers more than it was before all that.” While he hopes the dip is temporary and macroeconomic in nature, Tonsor admitted, “It is something I’m concerned about.”
Despite the growing focus on cost, Tonsor emphasized that price is still not the top driver of consumer decisions. “Taste and freshness always kind of lead that decision,” he said, noting that November marked the second-highest importance of price in the series, behind only February 2023. With December data still ahead, Tonsor says future reports will reveal whether November was a short-term blip or the start of a longer trend.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
