Interesting choice of timeframe (2005-2014). 2005 marks the period where we had so much feed that we didn't know what to do with it all, leading to lots of cat

Interesting choice of timeframe (2005-2014). 2005 marks the period where we had so much feed that we didn't know what to do with it all, leading to lots of cattle being raised and relatively cheap beef products produced as a result. Not knowing what to do with it all, by 2007 we implemented ethanol subsidies to try and use up some of the excesses. That helped spur on a huge commodities boom through 2008. Just as that was dying down, the US suffered a major drought, pushing feed availability and prices even higher. The result was that from ~2008-2013, especially towards the end, the number of cattle being raised diminished significantly and that sent the price of beef soaring to unprecedented levels by 2014. It would be interesting to see if the trend actually continues through to the present, or if, now that beef stocks have started to recover, consumption will go up again.