Beef prices hit record high as southwestern US recovers from worst dry spell in 1,200 years

• Beef prices recently notched $8 a pound, topping a pandemic record of $7.90 a pound, USDA data shows.
• The hike is being driven by a shrinking cattle supply as feed costs surge, the FT reported.
• Surging feed costs come as the southwest US recovers from the lowest rainfall seen in 1,200 years.

Beef prices have spiked to a record high recently as a megadrought that slammed the US a few years ago shrank cattle supplies. 

Retail prices hit $8 a pound, topping the previous record of $7.90 during the pandemic, according to a Financial Times analysis of data from the Agriculture Department.