The price of ground beef just set another record high in recent days, as a combination of factors including the 2012 drought, which caused ranchers to dramatically thin herds, contribute to its doubling in price since 2010.

As reported by CNS News, the average ground beef price rose to its new record in February, reaching $4.238 per pound, according to data released by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Towards the end of last summer – August – the average ground beef price for all types and grades topped $4 a pound for the very first time, coming in at $4.013, the BLS said.

End is nowhere in sight

And it just kept going from there:

In September, the average price jumped to $4.096 per pound; in October, the average price climbed to $4.154 per pound; and in November, the average price climbed to $4.201 per pound.

In December, the price declined slightly to $4.156 per pound. In January 2015, ground beef hit $4.235 per pound and in February 2015, according to the latest data from the BLS, the price of ground beef hit the highest level ever recorded of $4.238.

A year ago, in February 2014, the average price for a pound of ground beef was $3.555 per pound. Since then, the average price has increased 19.2 percent in one year.

Five years ago, in February 2010, the average price of a pound of ground beef was $2.277, according to the BLS. The price has since climbed by $1.961 per pound, or an increase of 86.1 percent.

According to KCCI TV in Des Moines, Iowa, the primary reason why beef prices are continuing to climb is drought. Since the record-setting summer of 2012, beef herds shrank dramatically, as ranchers had difficulty finding enough grass and hay to feed their cattle.

That led to a dearth of cattle in the years since; herds cannot be reproduced overnight. Also, lingering drought in parts of the country where cattle are raised, such as Oklahoma and Texas, have kept herds smaller than usual.

Experts told KCCI that prices are cyclical, but with continued drought and less grazing land, it doesn’t appear as though prices will fall any time soon. Nancy Degner, spokeswoman for the Iowa Beef Industry Council, said it could take one, two or more years for herds to grow and prices to fall again; it takes about two years to get calves big enough to take to market.

Meanwhile, food inflation continues to rise generally. The BLS noted that in February, the Consumer Price Index rose again, another 0.2 percent, forcing families to struggle even more to feed themselves.

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