A Note On Beef & Lamb Prices

We tend to avoid dwelling on bad news, we’re in the business of celebrating great farmers, brilliant butchers and thinking about our next meal. But there are a number of factors that are driving up the price of beef and lamb on a countrywide basis – particularly beef, which has seen a surge of 25% in the last five weeks alone – and we feel we need to explain a bit about what is going on.

Firstly, a number of beef farms in the UK have closed or are closing, and others have chosen to reduce their herds – we’ve seen this with sheep farmers too.
The economics of rearing cattle and sheep are tricky; an acre of land can be used to farm up to 200 pigs at once or many thousands of chickens, but that same acre can only support 20 sheep or a single cow. Grass-fed cattle need up to two years to reach maturity – compared to around nine months for sheep, six months for pigs and two-to-three months for chickens. In case you can’t keep up with the maths, cattle and sheep need a lot more space and time before a farmer can make their income.

Next, there has been a reasonably sharp rise in international demand for British and Irish beef, meaning that demand now outstrips supply – and as the above explains, there is no ‘quick fix’ to fill the gap. It’s heartening to see a desire for British meat, but it leaves the UK consumer in competition with the wealthier end of the global market – those in a position to import a premium product like British beef or lamb tend not to have to worry too much about price, which drives it up for everyone.

Last year’s poor weather was very challenging for all farmers, and for stockmen and women meant low yields for straw, hay and silage – all essential for overwintering animals, calving and lambing season. Many farmers were left in the position of paying extortionate amounts to buy in these usually homegrown basics, simply to get through the winter.

National Insurance hikes have hit many businesses hard, as have the price rises we all contend with in our homes relating to utilities and basic running costs.

In slightly more positive news, increasing consumer worries over overprocessed diets means that more people are cooking from scratch – which is really fantastic. But in terms of beef, this has placed a little extra pressure on an already limited supply.

Speaking about farming has become an unavoidably political thing to do, but the food on our tables is inherently political, and should be at the top of the agenda of whoever happens to be in charge. Anyone who has spent more than a few hours on a proper working farm will know how grueling the work is – isolating, long hours, at the mercy of the weather and at the sharp end of life, death and potential illness on a daily basis, never really able to take a break or a holiday, waiting a long time for a payday. But for some reason issues such as inheritance tax seem to get more air time and public interest – we’d love to see as much fervour around helping new people enter this most tricky of industries. For anyone who is interested, This Farming Life on BBC 2 offers a snapshot into the life of working farmers in the UK and the highs and lows that they face.

We don’t want to spark worry – we aren’t about to run out of beef or lamb, and we remain committed to exceptional quality and to supporting the network of family farms we whom we work. But we are having to pay more at the moment, and we felt we had to explain a bit about why – we are not exactly known for being cheap, but the rises over the last few weeks have really surprised us.

Getting back onto our usual territory of cooking, if you’re keen to explore more purse-friendly options for mealtimes at home, we’ve picked out a bit of recipe inspiration for you below. And we’re always here if you need a bit of cooking advice for whatever cut takes your fancy this week.