Barron's Streetwise Podcast – “Where's the Beef?” (Feb 13, 2026)
Host: Jackson Cantrell (with Producer & Co-host Jackson Cantrell)
Main Theme:
This episode investigates why beef prices in the U.S. have soared, despite a sharply reduced national cattle herd. Host Jackson Cantrell travels to Texas to trace the economics and culture of cattle ranching—from auction houses and family ranches to steakhouse owners and law enforcement fighting modern-day cattle rustlers. The episode explores the pressures on ranchers, explains the realities of the beef supply chain, and illuminates the powerful role of tradition and lifestyle in an industry at a crossroads.

Episode Structure & Key Points

1. High Beef Prices, Shrinking Herds

• [00:52] Jackson Cantrell introduces the mystery: Steak prices are up 55% in five years, ground beef is up 69%, but the U.S. herd is at a 75-year low, matching 1951 levels despite the population having doubled since.
• Investigative focus: Why aren’t ranchers expanding herds when prices are so high?
• The answers lie “at the very beginning of the chain with what I think is the most self-reliant worker in America and that's the cow-calf rancher” (Jackson Cantrell, 04:27).

2. The Beef Supply Chain Explained

• Cattle Auctions:

  • At Jordan auction in Central Texas, 1,100 head sold in one day for $2 million.
  • Auctions move quickly—15–20 seconds per head, buyers rely on experienced eyes.
  • Quote: “That's one head at a time, 15 to 20 seconds each.” (Jackson Cantrell, 00:49)

• Restaurant Perspective:

  • Steakhouses like Texas Roadhouse are thriving; others struggle with high beef costs.
  • At San Antonio’s Barn Door, owner Randy Stokes sells a 15-oz ribeye at $44.99, cuts his own steaks, and gets creative with pricing.
  • “Restaurants are not to blame for the high cost of beef.” (Jackson Cantrell, 06:55)

• Meat Packers:

  • Oligopoly: 80% of the industry run by Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef.
  • Despite being blamed for prices, many are operating at a loss or below capacity.
  • “It's hard for me to say that they are doing something to raise the price of beef to their own benefit when they're losing hundreds of millions of dollars” (Andrew Strelczik, cited at 08:49)

• Feedlots and Cow-Calf Producers:

  • Feedlots buy calves and fatten them for slaughter weight; prices set at auction.
  • The supply is ultimately determined by cow-calf ranchers (the start of the chain).

3. Why Aren’t Herds Growing? The Core Issues

• Capital Investment:
  • “The average rancher in Texas has 30 head... that used to be a $50,000-a-year hobby. Today that's a $100,000-a-year, fairly significant capital outlay.” (Tim Nediken, 11:52)
• Heifer Retention:
  • High prices tempt ranchers to sell young heifers for beef now, rather than retaining them to grow herds for the future—a long-term, risky bet based on calf prices and crucially, weather.
  • “The rancher who decides not to sell a heifer for beef today is making a multi-year bet, not only on prices, but as we'll hear in a moment, on rain.” (Jackson Cantrell, 12:41)
• Rain & Drought:
  • “Ranchers like to say they raise grass, not beef.” Swaths of Texas have been drought-stricken since 2020, raising feed costs and driving herd reductions.
  • Inputs (feed, hay, supplements) are up 55% since 2020.
• Land and Succession Challenges:
  • Land prices are rising as wealthy outsiders and hobbyists buy acreage, sometimes just for hunting, aided by relaxed agricultural tax exemptions.
  • Younger generations sometimes leave ranching; succession is complicated, often splitting land into smaller, less viable plots.

4. On the Ranch: Stories from Texas Families

The Runge Family (Fort McKavett)

• 8,400 acres, part inherited, supplement income via goats, hunting leases.
• “There's so much work. I asked Carolyn, why do you still do it?” (Jackson Cantrell, 20:52)
  • “This is what we enjoy. This is the lifestyle we want.” (Carolyn Runge, 21:23)
• Land prices are out of sync with cattle profits; return on investment is low (1%).
• Tax breaks make it feasible, but could vanish.

The Wright Family

• [24:12] Sixth-generation, with operations large enough not to specify herd size.
• Survived severe droughts by reducing herd; rebuilding is cautious and depends on rainfall.
• Use family labor, tech, and limited partnerships for succession and efficiency.
• Jim Wright: “We've done the cowboy thing before... but our horses are too old to do that anymore. I'm too old to do that. I can't get down and get up.” (27:35)
• Their children, including nuclear engineers, return for the heritage.

The Emotional Pull and Tradition

• Many ranchers choose this life for family, identity, and tradition—not pure profit.
• “There's a strong sense of wanting to keep the land and the lifestyle intact.” (Jackson Cantrell, 28:47)

5. Other Pressures and Modern Rustlers

• Screw Worm Outbreak: Halted Mexican cattle imports (4–5% of supply); makes a tight market tighter.
• Cattle Theft:
  • [30:38] Interview with HD Britain, Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association ranger.
  • Rustling is up—high prices attract thieves, especially with smaller “hobby” herds now common.
• Quote: “Normally, a calf's not going to be worth that much, but that cow is worth $4,000 now. So if you sell a cow and the calf together, they're $6,000. Just like that. The thieves have figured out I can go steal a load of cattle and make a huge check.” (HD Britain, 31:43)
• Law enforcement uses tips, classified ads, and occasionally information from angry exes: “There's nothing better than a mad girlfriend because they'll turn you in right right quick when you make them mad.” (HD Britain, 32:55)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You wanted to call this episode 'Where's the Beef?' But I learned that you don't actually know where that phrase comes from.” (Jackson Cantrell, 02:23)
• “A heifer on feed is probably being fattened for beef. Fewer on feed means more on grass. Those have likely been kept for breeding...” (Jackson Cantrell, 16:09)
• “If you're going to have a ranch, you have to either inherit it or marry it.” (Speak to the high barriers, 20:57)
• “This is the lifestyle we want.” (Carolyn Runge, 21:23)
• “My daddy always said, you'll take a rain and a baby calf any day.” (Dora Wright, 23:01)
• “We've done the cowboy thing before. We've done like Taylor Sheridan...but our horses are too old to do that anymore.” (Jim Wright, 27:35)
• “If I had known you were taking pictures, I would have worn my good gun.” (HD Britain, 30:47)
• “There's nothing better than a mad girlfriend because they'll turn you in right right quick when you make them mad.” (HD Britain, 32:55)

Key Timestamps

• 00:52 – Introduction to the Texas cattle auction and the beef price mystery
• 05:32 – Explaining the "food funnel" and steak’s starring role
• 06:44 – Small steakhouse owner on market pressures
• 08:49 – Wall Street analyst on the reality of packer profits
• 11:24 – Auction house walkthrough; who really makes money on beef
• 12:41 – Deep dive on heifer retention and rancher decision-making
• 13:31 – Visiting the Runge family ranch, succession, and land dilemmas
• 19:42 – Discussion of land prices, taxes, and why ranchers stay
• 23:01 – The Wright family: droughts, tech, generational solutions
• 27:35 – Shifts from cowboy lore to modern methods
• 30:38 – Interview with the cattle theft ranger
• 32:55 – Lawman’s tip: “There’s nothing better than a mad girlfriend...”
• 33:53 – Episode wrap-up and acknowledgments

Summary Takeaways

• Beef prices are at record highs, but the U.S. herd remains at historic lows because of deep-seated issues: droughts, high input costs, land speculation, tax loopholes, generational succession, and personal value systems.
• The supply chain is complex with many players but the most critical decision point remains the family rancher, who faces both economic and emotional calculations.
• It’s far harder, slower, and more personal to “manufacture” more cattle than widgets.
• The episode offers a rich, on-the-ground look at the tensions between economics, heritage, and the modern challenges facing American cattle ranching.

This summary was designed for those who missed the episode, offering a detailed, timestamped route through its stories, data, and revealing quotes.