As I understand it :
Beef prices ' on the hoof ' are at seady, fairly consistent price
about $ 1 / lbs ,and have been for some time .
The Meat Packing Cabal ( three very large Cabalistas )
have been raising the price of processed beef
the Hoofers have started their own processing plant(s)
to bring a little more of that Mignon back to their table and their community.
ref : WSJ more or less .
and of course , representative Noise Makers
made the appropriate amount of noise
and ,as usual , moved right on to something else