Kansas City, MO - Demand for meat is rising, at the same time as meat processors around the country are disrupted by closures caused by COVID-19 outbreaks, and as grocery chains begin to put limits on the amount of meat shoppers can purchase at any one time.
That pressure for meat is being felt at the smaller butcher shops as well.
"People call and place an order and I say 'it may be two to three months before we can fill your order'," says Joe Bichelemeyer, co-owner of Bichelemeyer Meats in Kansas City, Kansas.
He can tell "that they're quizzical about why it takes so long. This is something that takes a while to get from pasture-to-plate, so to speak."
That waiting list of two to three months is due to a backlog of about 150 orders, says Bichelmeyer.
Orders have flooded into the shop in the past few weeks as pople began seeing meat processors closing.
The process of butchering cattle is a time-consuming process.
"Beef is not something that you just harvest one day and put it on the shelf the next day. It has to be harvested, and then it goes through a period of dry aging."
It's not cheap, either.
You can get a side of beef weighing 350-400 pounds for around $3 a pound, including processing.
A half hog weighing 100-115 pounds is going for around $2 per pound.
