From staff reports OKLAHOMA CITY – Kansas State University Extension Livestock Market economist Dr. Glynn Tonsor recently shared the results of KSU’s Meat Demand Monitor for March.
Tonsor highlighted a promising increase in retail beef demand for March as opposed to February. An increase was observed across five of the eight tracked products examined, while some surpassed the March 2023 demand.
“There are not major changes, but retail demand appears to be holding up pretty well,” Tonsor said. “Food service demand, however, was actually up on all examined.”
There is evidence to support the idea that food service may be soft, he said, which could result in a reverse pattern next month if proven true.
“As we have started here in 2024, retail demand has been okay, food service demand has been a little softer and the cost of a meal has reflected elevated labor costs and other things,” Tonsor said. “More and more households concerned about their budget have consumed more at home, and demand has been higher for at home.”
Tonsor asked consumers to evaluate their priorities when making protein purchases.
“We give them a list of 12 things,” Tonsor said. “From taste, safety and price to environmental impact, we ask ‘what are the four of these 12 that are most important when you are making a protein purchasing decision and what are the four that are least important?’” In March, Tonsor found Americans prioritize taste, freshness, safety and price while ranking environmental impact, origin traceability, animal welfare as well as hormones and antibiotic usage were lower.
Tonsor notes that baby boomers prioritized taste, freshness and price more than younger generations, but these are still the most important factors for millennials. He added that the millennials do care more about environmental impact, social welfare, and other social issues than the baby boomers.
“The order of importance does not change across generations, but the relative importance does,” Tonsor said.