High on the hog? Bacon prices on the rise

The price of bacon has shot up dramatically nationwide over the last few years, making it hard for bacon lovers to still get their fill.

“I love bacon,” one Bend resident said Monday.

“My friends call me ‘Bacon’ because I like bacon a lot,” said another.

In fact, he loves bacon so much, he even has a bacon tattoo and a backpack with bacon design.

Even for “Bacon,” his love story with bacon might come to an abrupt halt, as the candy of meats is going up in price.

“That’s probably one of the reasons why I don’t eat it as much — because it’s way too expensive,” “Bacon” said.

According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of a pound of bacon rose another 6 cents in June, to an all time high of $6.11 a pound.
That’s 38 cents for a single strip.

Why the sudden spike in prices?

A virus, not harmful to humans, has killed more than 7 million piglets last year.

Fewer full-grown pigs, combined with the ongoing drought in the Southwest and West, have pushed feed prices to historic highs and that’s even impacting local butchers.

“Since we make our own bacon, we’re buying the raw pork belly, and so it is gone up pretty significantly since we opened three years ago,” said Bryan Tremayne, owner of Primal Cuts.

Primal Cuts buys its pork bellies from farmers all over the Northwest, but because the market price for pork increased, it has to pass that higher cost on to the consumer.

No matter the cost, true bacon lovers still find their way to the sizzling goodness.

“We’ve actually been going out to a local farmer out in Tumalo to get our bacon there,” said a Bend resident.

Right now, there is no end in sight of when bacon prices are going to go down again. There are even more bad news on the horizon. Next in line to raise prices is beef.