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Why grilling out this weekend may cost you

If you’re planning on grilling out this summer, you may want to save up some money first. Beef prices are at their all time high now — with hamburge...

If you're planning on grilling out this summer, you may want to save up some money first.

Beef prices are at their all time high now -- with hamburger meat reaching up to $6.00 per pound.

After the recession, people stopped buying as much meat, leading ranchers to cut their herds down.

Then the drought hit, with cattle-raising states being hit hardest for several years in a row.

"We're literally shipping hay down to Texas from these parts around here where we have the water," said Kim Dopler, owner of Johnnie's Meat Market in Davenport. "So you put those two things together, supply and demand, there's a huge demand but not a lot of beef out there so the price is gong to be high."

Doppler usually tries to keep his prices as low as he can so that customers like Shelly Stacy continue to back every week.

"I live in Muscatine and I drove a half hour to get up here because I like the people [who] work here," said Stacy. "They've got good prices, good meat, and wrap it the way you like it. It's better than grocery stores."

Though, even Stacy can't ignore how high the prices have gotten the last few years.

"It's hard to feed your family good food or include meat in a meal because of the prices," Stacy said. "Within a week I've probably got a hundred dollars worth of meat in [my shopping cart.]

"I think it's going to get worse, I truly think it's going to get worse. I think they make it truly difficult for people to survive," said Stacy.

Beef isn't the only cookout item with a higher price tag. Complimentary food items such as bread, lettuce, chips, and even pickles have gone up in price as well.

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