Interest rates communicate the value of resources over time. For example, if you take out a loan, then the interest rate tells you how much you must to pay in order to keep that money over the life of the loan. The interest rate also reflects how much the lender will be compensated in exchange for parting with their funds. On the consumer side, the interest rate reflects the price that the borrower is willing to pay in order to avoid delaying a purchase.

When a business borrows, the interest rate reflects the minimal amount of value that they would need to create in order to make an accounting profit. For example, if a business borrows $100 for one year at an interest rate of 5%, then they need to earn $105 by the time that they repay the loan in order to break even with zero profit. The business would need to earn more than 5% in order to earn a profit on their borrowing and investment venture.

The longer the business takes to repay their loan, the more interest that accrues. And, the higher the interest rate, the more they need to earn in order to repay their loan.

This logic applies to all production because all production takes time. If production takes very little time, then the impact of the interest cost is miniscule. But, if production takes longer, then interest rates become increasingly relevant. These kinds of products include trees, cheese, wine, livestock, etc. Anything that ages, ferments, or has a lengthy production process will be more sensitive to the cost of borrowing.

How?

The growth pattern for most (all?) goods looks similar. Below-left is a growth chart for dairy cows . Notice that calves grow quickly at first, and their growth slows over time. For the sake of argument, let’s say that the change in value of a cow mimics the change in weight (Yes, I know that dairy and beef cows are different, but the principle is the same).  Below-right is the monthly percent change. Even at an age of 25 months a cow is still growing in value at 2.4% per month or 33% per year.

Of course, there is a risk that some cows don’t survive to slaughter, lowering the expected growth rate. Since most cattle are slaughtered between 18 and 24 months of age, their growth rate at the time of slaughter is 4.4%-2.7% per month. As the interest rate at which farmers borrow rises, the optimal age at slaughter falls. Otherwise, the spread between the growth rate and the interest rate could go negative. Even so, what an investment! If you can borrow at, say, 8% per year, then you’ll make money hand-over-fist on the spread.

Except… Cows cost money to raise, and most of that cost is feed. According to the production indicators and estimated returns published by the USDA, the cost of feed in February of 2023 was $158.11 per hundred pounds of beef. The selling price of beef was $161.07. That leaves $2.96 or a profit of 1.87% earned over the course of 1.5-1.75 years. That investment is starting to look a lot less good, especially since it doesn’t include the cost of maintaining facilities, insurance, etc. It’s no wonder that farmers and ranchers are serious about their subsidies. Clearly, with such tight margins, farmers and ranchers are going to look good and hard at the interest rates that they pay on their debt. And, they do have debt.

However, the recent increase in beef prices is not caused by higher interest rates.

That 1.87% profit margin is at prices and costs from February 2023. Since 2020, the price of cattle feed ingredients (grain, bean, and oil) peaked in the summer of 2022 and are still substantially more expensive than pre-Covid (see below). That means that cows getting slaughtered right now were raised on more expensive feed. This February 2024, the cost of feed per 100lb. of cattle was $191.80. But the cattle selling price was only $180.75. That’s a $11.05 loss for cattle raising. Wholesale prices of cattle might be up recently, but the cost of feed is up by more. It’s not the cattle farmers who are benefiting from the high beef prices. In fact, they’re getting squeezed hard.

There is good news. The cost of feed ingredients has been falling recently, which means that beef farmers should begin to see some relief if the recent trend continues. For Consumers, the price of beef is already down from its 2023 peak.