U.S. cattle prices are soaring to record highs, driven less by the nation’s shrinking herd and more by unexpectedly strong consumer demand, according to Kansas State University agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor. 

He called it a “beef demand pull” — a process that has lifted profitability for cattle producers while squeezing margins for meatpackers facing the smallest cow herd since the 1950s.

“Cattle prices are quite elevated compared to a year ago,” Tonsor said in an interview for The Spokesman Speaks podcast. “But core to it is that beef demand is quite strong, so the public is able and willing to pay more for beef today than we were expecting....