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Cow/calf specialist calls inflation a double-edged sword

An extension cow/calf specialist says inflation is like a double-edged sword.

Eric Mousel with the University of Minnesota tells Brownfield there are positive and negative affects on the beef industry.

“The cyclical inflation, higher gas prices (and) higher material prices, those obviously are impacting us. But those are the most likely to resolve themselves the most quickly.”

On the flip side, he says consumer costs are going up.

“Which in some ways is good for us. It certainly raises the price of beef, it raises the price of the end product.”

And Mousel says so long as prices don’t outpace the ability of consumers to afford beef, cattle producers should be in good shape.

Brownfield interviewed Mousel during the 2022 Minnesota Cattle Industry Convention in Willmar, Minnesota.