I learned long ago to subscribe to various industry trade journals in order to get the inside scoop on stories before they hit the MSM. Because, after all, most of those stories are glorified press releases anyway.
So here’s a useful forward-looking tip:
According to JohnPedersen’s “By the Numbers” column in my handy-dandy copy of WATT Poultry USA, a poultry industry trade magazine, “it appears that the meat [beef, pork, broilers and turkeys] supply per capita will not shrink until early 2009. Abundant supplies through 2008 will keep meat prices near or under cost to produce and market. Through May, young broiler head slaughtered was up 3.5 percent but ready-to-cook (RTC) meat was up a huge 5.3 percent…. Even though consumer confidence is low, near 2006 levels, no cutback in red meat per capita is anticipated until 2009.”
So y’all have about four months to fill those freezers in anticipation of some price hikes down the road. You’ve been warned.
Just defrosted my main freezer, and noted that I have enough steaks, corned beef and chicken in there for about 120 main meals.
I’m short of pork, though, and that will be my main focus during the next months.
All vacuum-sealed, of course.
We don’t actually have a bulk freezer yet — that’s going to be one of my next purchases now that we’re pretty well set on canned stuff for the longer term. I’ve been eyeing the small chest freezers at Costco — they look like a good deal.
RD, how often do you find that you have to defrost? Is there any downside to getting a “frost-free” chest freezer, other than increased power use?