Latest · Film 002 · Food prices

Why Beef Is So Expensive (And Who Gets Your Dollar)

USDA has split every beef dollar three ways since 1970. Open the ledger, and the usual answer about who is getting rich turns out to be right one year and wrong the next.

November 15, 2026 · Film 7 min 33 s · Written edition, charts and data

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Tracker

The beef dollar

Who gets each dollar spent on Choice beef, updated every month from USDA data. Through October 2026.

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One dollar of Choice beef

October 2026

Rancher49.6¢

Packing plant6.1¢

After the plant44.3¢

Total100.0¢

Source: USDA ERS Meat Price Spreads

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