Beef prices are having their biggest surge in decades

If you want to eat a steak or a burger, it’s going to cost you even more these days.

Beef prices have hit record high levels due to tight supplies and high demand. Consumers are paying more for beef at grocery stores and restaurants.

August’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index report showed ground beef prices were up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis while beef roasts were up 13.6%, and steak prices 16.6% higher.

A combination of years-long droughts, higher prices associated with raising cattle and years of low prices led farmers to slash their herds to the lowest levels since 1951, according to The Guardian.

David Anderson, livestock specialist at Texas A&M told the publication the last time cattle prices set a record in 2014, ranchers reacted by breeding more bovines.