UGH: Tyson Foods Confirms Protein Switching Underway Amid Record High Beef Prices.

“Chicken continues to provide support to the business as the company continues to face beef headwinds,” analysts at brokerage Stephens wrote in a note to clients.

Making sense of all this is simple: rising chicken demand alongside sliding beef demand is known as “protein switching.” This trend is driven by excessively high supermarket beef prices, prompting low- and middle-income consumers to seek cheaper alternatives like chicken and pork.

This comes as the latest USDA cattle report shows America’s cattle and calves herd population has fallen to 94.2 million, its lowest mid-year level since 1973. The nation’s shrinking herd size has pushed USDA retail ground beef prices to record highs.

We also had 120 million fewer people in 1973.