Droughts, complicated by climate change, result in US beef herd hitting historic low
In major cattle states, ranchers have been coping with intense precipitation events, followed by long stretches with no rain.
A lot of these high prices are coming from supply constraints as the real cost of producing a mutilated edible cow carcass rises in the face of shrinking pastures and depleted water reserves.
This is only profitable when the excess supply of cattle you're paying to lose is outrun by the gross profit in sales. And higher prices deplete your customer base, which means you're still losing sales even as your margins on the surviving slaughterable calfs rise.
This isn't "good" for the industry as a whole, even if there are a few well-positioned winners.