Remember that one time I almost ran out of butter, and I was like, “eh, no biggie” and then I took a nap?
Yeah, nobody remembers that – because butter, buttttttter, BUTTER, but-ter. Laura loves butter. Running out is not okay. (Also, I rarely have time for naps.)
I love butter so much that once for my birthday,
my boys made and decorated me a cake shaped like a big stick of butter.
Best birthday cake ever.
Also, those Cake Boys sure were precious.
I have always watched for sales on butter and stock up when I find one. I almost always have 10-20 pounds in my freezer and about 8 sticks in my fridge. When I need more in my fridge, I send a boy to the freezer to get a couple of pounds for me. My butter needs are always met.
But the rising cost of butter is messing up my bulk purchase, never run out, always have plenty, butter is never a problem, there will always be butter situation.
This favorite of mine hasn’t been on sale for way too long around these parts. Wait – I take that back. It was sort of on sale three weeks ago, but when I went to the store to stock up, they only had three pounds left, which is like a 4-day supply for me when I’m baking and inviting people over to eat. Apparently everyone else in town had already been there and stocked up, thinking nothing of my needs. There was plenty of margarine on the shelves but absolutely not, I don’t think so, no way.
Much ado about butter
So is this what it has come to? Is this what it’s going to be from here on out? Is the cost going to continue to hover at $3.50-$5.00 a pound, or worse, keep rising from here? Ouch.
I can’t find any recent information about dairy prices. An article written about a year ago said that prices were up, but expected to go down. Ironically, the “up” referred to in that article was lower than the prices I’m seeing a year later. That article did make me a little bit more sympathetic to the farmer, helping me recognize that I should probably never complain about food prices because farmers work really hard. God bless the farmer. But also God bless my grocery budget. God bless us everyone. Please pass the butter.
So spoiled American here, working to feed her family well, while appreciating the farmer and staying within budget, and trying not to gasp in fear that there is only one pound of butter left in my house. Apparently I’m going to have to go to the store and pay full price. Wha?!
I am very interested to know what you are paying for butter these days. Has the price gone up here, there, and everywhere? Any dairy farmers among us who can shed some light? How many pounds of freezer do you usually have in your house on a regular basis?
Emily says
Depending on your grocery store you could ask about a “rain check.” If our store runs out of something on sale they will give us a certificate that is good for two weeks stating the item and the sale price. They usually can tell me when they will have more back in stock too. When they have more I present the rain check and they honor the sale price! It’s fantastic.
Twila says
Last week our local grocery store had the 1/2 pounds BOGO for 2.50. Good stock up price. I’m fortunate to have discount grocery stores around so I can usually get it for 2.79 a pound or so.
Lori C says
I have no answers for you as to why the cost has gone up, but I will sit beside you and comiserate. I normally have several lbs of butter in my freezer at any given time, but I’ve been waiting so long for a stock up price that we are down to buying a new package every time we get low in the fridge rather than simply going out to the freezer to get more butter. I’m hoping that the stores start having some good holiday baking sales so k can stock up on butter. Most stores around here have had limit one on their butter sales lately. :(
Vickie Houser says
Yes, limits! When it is on sale for $2 lb. they put a 2 pkg limit on it. I divide my grocery list up and go back multiple times when I see this. The store is only 1 mile away and one of us will go past it everyday.
Rachel says
I can still get butter under $3/lb, but only at Sam’s, which is an hour drive away. I usually stock up at least 20 pounds at a time when I go, which will last our family of 11 about 4-5 weeks. Locally, the best price I can find is Walmart brand 2-packs for $7.50 which is still better than the grocery store’s $4. And all this is for commercial butter. Grassfed would be marvelous, but it’s WAY out of my budget!!!
Stephanie says
I’ve been buying Kerrygold at Costco 7.69 (a few weeks ago it was 6.99) for 1 1/2 pounds. Meijer has the same butter on sale this week 1/2 pound for 2.50 if there’s one near you.
I’m used to having about 10 pounds in the freezer and a couple pounds in the fridge. My freezer is empty and my fridge has 4 sticks. :( I’ve been holding on hoping the price at Costco would drop back down and it seems like that’s not gonna happen.
Pam says
Laura, I read a news article about a year ago saying the reason for the price increase in butter was due to our exporting it. The exports were causing a “shortage” here. I’ve been complaining ever since reading that article!
The best price I find in my area is usually 2/$5 but a couple weeks ago with a store coupon I was able to buy one pound for $1.79! The regular price here ranges from $3.00 – $3.99.
mrs.p says
3.49 to 4.99. Sale price is 3.00 ( i live in west michigan)
Leanne says
I, too am from W. Michigan and LOATHE the current butter prices!!
Heather says
A group of moms were here yesterday and this topic came up….love that moms all over can have rousing discussions about the price of butter! We are up to about $3/pound at ALDI, which is higher than it was. I buy a few cases of butter during the holidays when it is typically closer to $2/pound (or less) and it lasts most of the year. This year I ran out early and we are also doing the 2 pounds or so on hand dance and that is sad…I too like knowing that I have 30-50 pounds on hand at any given time. Baking emergencies can strike and then where would we be?
Tracey says
Butter here is about $4/pound. However, our grocery store normally has it BOGO close to Thanksgiving, so I’m holding out and saving up so that I can stock up big time!!!
Jenny says
Oh my, I just posted this same question on Facebook, but non of my friends care! I also keep 10-20 pounds in my freezer and I am down to my last 4 pounds. I have been looking for a while to stock up and the prices are horrible. I live in Southeastern Ohio and it is $3.99-4.99 a pound, $3 for a sale price. I used to get it at Costco for $8.49 for 4 pounds but that price is about $12.50 for 4 pounds. With 3 of my 5 kids having food allergies, I have to do all or our baking from scratch! We have also had a shortage of cream. I use it in my coffee and the last couple of weeks I have to go to a couple stores before I find it and then I bought the last 2 containers or organic because they were out of regular. Organic butter and cream are not in my budget for my family of 7 sadly. what is going on? I need butter! and cream for that matter!
April Luebke says
Target had Land O’ Lakes butter on clearance for less than $2 a pound several months back. I think I bought about 3-4 months’ worth, and I haven’t seen anything under $3 a pound since. I’ve run out of my stash, and it almost physically hurts to fork over $4 a pound. I’m praying there will be good sales soon with holiday baking season coming, and I plan to stock up again then.
Darlene says
One thing I read recently was “McDonald’s Corp. announced it will switch from margarine to butter in all of its U.S. restaurants in October which is expected to increase butter demand by around 25 million pounds per year.” I also read this last month
Inflation Watch – Butter Prices Hit All-Time Record High
Tyler Durden on 09/24/2015 12:33 -0400
Butter prices hit $3.10 per lb today in Chicago trading – a record high – as it appears the expectations of production increases after the EU milk quota system expired in March have proved “wildly optimistic.”
Kristin says
I live in dairy country in Upstate NY, so butter prices are usually really reasonable. One pound at Aldi is usually $1.99 – 2.29. I needed some a couple of weeks ago, and was shocked to see it at $2.99. I know this is low compared to what others are paying, but it is high for here. I haven’t checked other stores, because I was sure I might collapse from the shock.
Molly says
A few weeks ago, I saw butter at Aldi for 2.59/lb. I bought 8 lbs, which is all I had room for in my freezer, and that’ll last me ~6 months or so. (There’s only my husband and me.) The next week it was close to $4! I’m hoping it will go down again near Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Jennifer says
Sam’s has the best price by far. Around $8 for 4 pounds here in Texas.
Rebecca S. says
I’m also in Texas, and I usually get mine at Sam’s, too, for a little over $8 for 4 pounds. Yesterday, however, it had jumped to $11-something for 4 pounds! I think it came out to $2.90 per pound, which is apparently lower than many places, but it’s still quite a price increase over the last month.
I didn’t get any, but now I’m thinking I might ought to go back and stock up anyway….
Amy C says
I paid $4.99 for one lb of organic butter at Kroger. If I don’t make it to Kroger I buy the Challenge butter at Wal-Mart for around $3.79 a lb. They have coupons in the box to use on the next purchase.
Jill says
Butter is about $4-4.50 here in Wisconsin (yes, the dairy state!!) but my local grocer puts it on sale to about $3.00/lb pretty regularly so I stock up. I’m more concerned about the price of cream cheese which went from $0.95 for 8 oz to $1.50 seemingly overnight! I often blend it ith whipping cream to create a cheaper mock mascarpone for desserts plus it’s so versatile in pasta dishes, appetizers and on bagels so that price swing really hurts!
I’m fortunate to have a budget that can handle (hopefully temporary) price increases on foods but I totally understand why so many people give in and buy junk food. It’s cheaper and you get more. I’m blessed to have choices and budget flexibility but so many people in the urban area I live in are not.
Vickie Houser says
Today’s local ad has the store brand butter quarters at $2.99 lb. (North-central Iowa). I don’t consider this much of a sale. It always seems to go on sale at a decent price just before the holidays when baking season starts. I am waiting to stock up then. I prefer not to pay more than $2 per lb. Sorry Mr. Farmer, it’s a budget thing. I still have 6 lbs. in the freezer, so I’m good. There are only 2 of us and I really don’t bake much. In our home it’s primarily used as a spread. You can always find a jelly jar filled with soft butter on my counter.
Amy says
Yup. I was just “volunteered” (we like to call it volunTOLD lol!) to make cupcakes for an upcoming wedding at our church. My fist thought was “butter!!” That will actually have to be our gift to the couple. The frosting alone will exceed what we would have given them!
Angel says
I buy Challenge brand. There is always a coupon on the inside of the carton for .55 off. Regular price at HEB is 3.44 so with my coupon , I pay 2.89 a pound. I’m in Texas so butter prices vary. My local Walmart sells some brands of butter for around 8.00 a pound. It’s crazy.
Nadene says
We went on a field trip to a local organic farm and the farmer was telling us to expect the price of all dairy products to go up since there was such a poor corn crop this year. I just paid 2.50/lb at Costco for just the Kirkland brand, not organic. I too am hoping that we will see some great sales closer to the holiday season. I live in Washington state, btw.
Gail says
Even my favorite Aldi’s prices have skyrocketed!! I had stocked up and got 10 lbs when it dropped to $1.89 around Easter. Unfortunately now in October, my stash is long gone. At $2.89 a pound is still the cheapest around. Gas is cheap and butter is expensive…ugh.
Micah says
Yes, butter makes me gasp when I look at the price but it seems ALL real food has gone up in price. It’s getting more and more expensive to feed our growing family of 9 :(
Shelley says
I’m waiting for a better price to stock up also here in Wisconsin. I usually get my butter from Kwik Trip as their butter is supposedly not from cows treated with growth hormones, or from a local dairy. Kwik Trip is up to $2.99/lb. right now. We’ve been buying a pound or two at a time to hold us over until it comes down also. Sometimes the local grocery store will have a 2/$5 coupon but there’s a limit on it.
Dee says
I just paid $4.99 for one pound of off brand non organic butter at Walmart that is usually about $2.00. The organic grass fed that I normally buy was at $8.99 a pound. Last time I bought that was at just under $6 and before that it was just under $5, so it skyrocketed very quickly for some reason.
Erika says
Another Wisconsinite checking in. The last time I bought butter at the grocery store it was $3.29 a pound. I think the lowest we got over the last year was down to $2.39. I bought butter at Sam’s Club because it was still under $11 for 4 pounds, and cheaper than the grocery store, but I suspect that has gone up a bit now.
Last year’s holiday baking suffered drastically because the butter got so expensive. I will be very sad if I have to limit the treats a second year in a row because of the price of butter.
Jessica Salisbury says
The butter struggle is real! I’m glad I’m not the only one who had anxiously been watching my freezer supply diminish without having seen a sale for a while. I usually buy it at Smiths for $1.79/1.99 lb when they have their good sale but I haven’t seen it for a while. If there is a local store that has a sale and they have run out, try taking the ad to Walmart and price matching, that could work!
Julia says
Yes!! I paid $3.99/lb the other day. I was wondering the same thing. Between eggs and butter I may never bake again. Lol
Angie says
The loss-leader sales on butter are always right before Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those are the major stock-up times! The rock-bottom price I saw at Thanksgiving and Christmas 2013 was $1.99/lb. The rock-bottom price I saw at Thanksgiving and Christmas 2014 was $2.25/lb. I’m not 100% sure, but I think the rock-bottom price I saw at Easter 2015 was $2.25/lb. I live in Ohio.
During the Thanksgiving/Christmas sales I always buy between 20 – 30 pounds. I buy around 20 – 30 pounds at the Easter sale also. That works out fine for the time from Christmas to Easter, but I always run out between Easter and Thanksgiving. I’m down to my last 1 1/2 pounds of butter. Yikes! Next Easter, I think I’ll buy 40 pounds.
Right now, Kroger butter is $3.49/lb and actually I was shocked to see that Great Value (WalMart) butter is $3.79/lb. I think that WalMart is still selling their 2 lb value packs of Great Value butter for $5.98. Unless that recently changed. I don’t have an Aldi or Sams in my area.
Angie
Carly Orris says
SAMs club has it in Michigan for $11.98 for 4 lbs. that is how much I keep on hand. Aldi usually has a really good sale on it right around now or in the next couple of weeks. I think I paid around $2 for it last year, and I bought at least 6 lbs at once.
Amanda says
Yes, it’s a bummer. The new “sale” price around here (CA) seems to be $3.00-$3.50/lb, and the sales aren’t coming around as often. I have seen $2.50 once or maybe twice in the past year. My husband was teasing me because we’re “running low,” that is down to 5lbs or so. I’m holding out for holiday baking sales and just not making biscuits :)
What I really go on about is the price of eggs though. A dozen conventional eggs is $4+ now.
Trudi says
Sometimes I’ve felt like a “butter hoarder”, but after reading these comments I don’t feel that way anymore. I’m definitely in good company! If we get down to 20 lbs. I feel like it might as well be two pounds! We use Challenge (organic is out of our budget) which normally sells for $4.99/lb. at King Soopers (our local Kroger chain). Whenever the sale price gets close to $3.50/lb we stock up. It hadn’t been on sale for ages, but about two months ago they put it on sale for $2.49, and at the same time they made it a part of their “mix and match – buy 5 items get $5 off”. So, like any self-respecting butter-lover, I mixed and matched salted and unsalted!! I was able to get over 60 lbs. for the freezer for only $1.49/lb. Woohoo!! What a blessing!
Missy says
I usually buy 4-5 pounds at a time and it’s such a shock to my grocery bill. I generally shop at our commissary (we are an Army family) and prices are generally a bit cheaper and tax free. But our prices have gotten crazy as well. I don’t buy the expensive stuff either. A few months ago butter was about $2.85/pound. This week it was $3.85/pound! The organic butter was $3.95/pound so I splurged and bought the organic! I try to keep unsalted butter in my freezer all the time too and had run out last week. Thankful for our farmers and their cows!
Carol says
It is getting so expensive, $4.99/lb organic butter. Maybe I will need to investigate using cream and whipping it into butter in the blender, with a little salt!
Jennifer says
I pay about 5.80 a pound for organic butter and 3.00 a pound for non-organic.
Leanne says
I try to stock up on butter at Costco when I can. Unless the local grocery store has a good sale. BUT not all butter is the same. Some store brands are not really good. There are some major quality differences. IE, making a batch of cookies with Wal-Mart brand butter vs. Land O Lakes butter will yield very different results. I try to stick to the kinds (no pun intended) that I know are quality.
Kristin says
This is because cheaper brands contain more water, which will lead to dramaticly different results in baking. Also, I have heard that WI has higher butter standards then many states, so any butter made in my state will still be pretty good. Land O’ Lakes used to be my gold standard before switching to organic 4 years ago. I now buy Trader Joe’s organic ($4.99 a lb) as I prefer the taste to Organic Valley.
Daphne says
I almost died this week when I went to buy some! Costco had it for the cheapest at $2.90 a lb (it might have been cheaper to buy the lb block instead of 4 sticks but I use sticks. Sam’s was around $3.20 lb. Aldi was $3.90 a lb and Target was around $4.50! Thankfully I didn’t get it at any of the pricey stores because I know Costco is usually cheaper. I waited an extra day and went there after my main grocery shopping day.
MrsCookin says
I’ve noticed the price creeping up lately too. My husband is a chef and we were discussing this last night. A case of butter went from about $100/case upto $130+!! Like you I always have extra, but it hurt the other day to pay $4 more than I’m accustomed to.
BUSY MOM IN AL says
$4.91 here!! Can’t believe it . . . just buying 1 or 2 at a time as needed. :(
One of the other commenters is right: gas is cheap, butter is expensive!!
Tara B. says
Prices are going up here in Texas too! I remember the same exact thing happening last year at the same time (because we go on vacation at the same time each year and I was stocking up for a trip). Is it seasonal?? Because butter got down to $7.99 for a big pack at Costco and now that it’s October, it quickly bumped up to $10.99. Nooooo!
I always have butter on hand too. It’s scary when I run out! In fact, the other day I was out but had a jug of heavy whipping cream in the fridge so I may own butter in my kitchen aid mixer and was thrilled!! It’s so easy! Now if I could figure out if it saves money to make my own…not really sure. I used about $1.50 in.cream and got about a cup of butter.
Ashley says
To make your butter stash stretch farther, try substituting applesauce or other pureed fruit (maybe even pumpkin) for at least half the butter in your baked goods. This won’t work well for some things (sugar cookies), but it can work really well in some cakes, baked oatmeals, etc.
Brooke says
I noticed that our butter st Costco jumped up about $3 for for the 4lb boxes. It’s because it’s holiday season. I’ve noticed that butter prices increase quite a bit around this time though New Years and then they go down again. Butter is in demand for sure! ;-)
Beth says
this isn’t JUST about butter. This is about the CREAM in the butter. So everything with cream is skyrocketing. Butter, milk, cheese, heavy whipping cream, half & half etc………
Lacey says
I’m going to start by saying “Hallelujah!” Finally someone else is concerned by the price of butter. How is it more than a pound of ground beef?!?! Here in Eastern WA state, I shop at WINCO (a great, low cost store) and Tillamook is my favorite butter. 7 days ago it was $4.76/lb. I about fainted in the dairy aisle and mumbled some not so nice things. The WINCO brand was only $.30/lb cheaper and it has too much “milk” left in it so it’s not high quality. However, Land o Lakes butter was $3.23/lb, so I bought 2 lbs. I guess our next Costco trip will include as much butter as our budget will allow :)
Melinda says
I haven’t purchased butter in a while, but last I bought it I paid about $4.50 per# for organic butter at Costco. Or Kerrigold 1.5# for $8.
Last year at this time heavy cream skyrocketed and then went back down. I haven’t purchased any for a good while, as most of my family is sensitive to dairy.
Seattle, WA says
$7.99 fo 2 lbs of organic butter at Costco in Seattle
Mrs says
Hearing about all these butter prices makes me so thankful again for our family milk cow! Having animals sure is a lot of work. Sometimes it feels like a real chore to have to milk morning and evening, take care of all the milk, dip the cream, make the butter, etc. ,but this reminds me to count my blessings! We have four boys and go through a lot of milk and it is so nice to know there’s always plenty. And I don’t need to worry about running out of butter! Not to mention all the yogurt, cream cheese, cottage cheese, etc.
Jesse says
Hey Laura, I am here in South Central Pennsylvania. Our local farmer who farms our land and provides our raw milk ships directly to Land of Lakes. I know that he gets a higher mpremium because of his lovely jersey milk. I also think his amounts change as the milk prices vary. I will be checking with him on this. He was able to help me know why my wheat berries had risen in price.
I use my palm shortening and coconut oil to stretch my butter needs. I do think these rises and shortages should be wakeup calls to us so that we can realize how blessed we have been and that the future of our economy is highly unstable. We need to be aware far worse could be in our future. I will get back to you if I get some answers. :+)
Jessica says
We pay 4.99 for a pound of organic butter…non organic is almost the same price, so I suck it up and pay extra:) Butter prices are out of control and I have been relying on coconut oil more often. Of course that isn’t cheap either, but thank you very much Laura for sharing your stir-and-pour wheat bread since I can now make bread without butter!! My family of seven can be very particular about their bread, lol! So now I should be able to make our butter last longer!
jessica says
In Atlanta I’m seeing $3.39 at Aldi and over $5 at the major chains. It’s painful! I stocked up last Easter when it was $1.89, but that is long gone. I’ll have to check out Costco here and see if it’s better there. And can we talk about the cost of a 32oz tub of pain Greek yogurt?? Oy, that hurts to pay!
Ali says
Glad to see I’m not the only one with sticker shock. During the summer I was paying 6.79 for 4 pounds at Costco in Southern California. It is now $11.99 for 4 pounds at Costco. I haven’t checked the Keri Gold prices there lately; since it’s so much for regular I figure that stuff is probably out of the question.
Crissi says
Butter is expensive everywhere!! Whether in store, bulk stores like Sam’s or Costco, or online. We have started using Coconut Oil in it’s place. I do NOT like the taste of Coconut Oil, but the one I get from Tropical Traditions doesn’t have a coconutty taste to it. We pretty much use a 1:1 ratio. In a couple of recipes we’ve had to increase the flour amounts, but not too often. My only other consolation is that we make it from the cream we pull off our raw milk. I’ve been stockpiling that all summer.
Wendy says
I just bought 24 pounds of butter because Aldi had it for $1.79. I always buy a lot when the price is right and freeze it. (I’m in Indiana.)
Chris says
I guess I shouldn’t complain that my freezer is overloaded with fresh raw Jersey butter and I am having to make butter almost every other day.
Ashley says
In Kansas the cheap stuff is $3-4 per pound. And that is Aldi/ Walmart pricing.
Grass fed butter from raw milk where we get our milk is $16 a pound! Our littlest need the pastured butter so I only buy it for him (because yikes!!!) The Amish sell it for about $5 a pound but the quality wasn’t that of the grass fed.
Christine says
Costco in NJ has butter at $2.49 a pound. Wegmans has their store brand at $3.49 a pound. The rising cost may have something to do with the price of feed for cows. If memory serves the cost of corn feed is very high so that trickles down to butter.
I remember the good old days when butter was 99 cents a pound during the holidays. Holidays were my favorite time of year for stocking up on baking items. White flour and sugar was 99 cents for 5 lbs. Now the holiday prices are $1.29 for white flour and $1.99 for sugar. I do not use a ton of white flour but Christmas cookies and yellow cake have a much nicer color and texture with white flour.
Karen says
I went to Costco here in Wis yesterday afternoon (10/23), and the price was $10.99 for 4 pounds (not organic), which is $2.74 a pound. I bought three packages/12 pounds of unsalted and 1 package/4 pounds salted. Thanks for the heads up about the increase.
kim t. says
oh Laura. (pronouncing it Lara). maybe it would just be easier to get a cow? :P
kim t. says
I’m totally playing here, I think that came out wrong. :)
Laura says
I totally heard your playful voice! And besides, you said my name right. ;)
Nathana Clay says
We’ve been noticing this too! I usually stock up in our freezer, but our stash is depleted. I have 2 tablespoons. Horrible, I know! We did discover that Sam’s Club (while not the top quality butter) does have a decent price for butter. Though I usually stock up anytime I find it under $2.50, especially under $2! :)
Rosana says
Same here! Last two years I have stocked up around Christmas time and gotten it for around $1.77/lb. But it is on sale this week for $2.99 and I wasn’t going to get any (I’m almost out of my stash), but then I saw that it is $3.39 at ALDI, the cheapest non-sale place to get it.
Cindy says
Butter sale alert–If you have a Kroger around you, they have Land O Lakes on sale this week for $2.50 (if you buy 10 qualifying items–not to worry–I will probably buy all that is on the shelf). Otherwise $2.99/lb
Renee says
I found this site because I couldn’t believe it when I had to pay $4.00 a pound for Great Value butter at Walmart. The name brands were all almost $6.00 and the organic butter is $7.35 a pound! This is at Walmart in the Hartford, CT area so you can expect that prices are even higher in the supermarkets. We have some of the highest grocery prices in the country in this area now. I think we now beat out New York City for prices. My Dad lives in NYC and we compared prices at our local supermarkets (same store name) and I was blown away that some of the prices he quoted me on the same items were actually CHEAPER. Go figure, this was unheard of until recently. Yet another reason to move out of CT to add to the ever growing list.
Hix Rockett says
I’ve been in, (and ran out of) 3 supermarkets this week, that were charging $7.79, for a pound of Land ‘O Lakes butter. This is beyond insane!
Lisa says
My question to Google was, “Why are butter prices so high?” I almost said “Why the hell are butter prices so high?” but I toned it down a bit. In Kent, Wa., we are seeing $5.00-5.50/lb prices. As of late, a sale might be $2.99 or 2 lb/$7.00. I dont remember Costco’s price, as I am sure I fell to the floor with convultions. I was hoping that the holidays would bring down the prices.
As of now, I am writing this in the truck on our way to the family property, and, suddenly we see advertizing at the cash-only-store on their sign for 2lb/$5 (Western Family). My partner skids into the parking lot sideways…….I send him in. And GUESS WHAT. He only bought 1 lb. I just shook my head.
Pat says
It’s January 30, 2016, and no change except up. Western Family butter was over $4/lb and Umpqua was $3.99. This is central Oregon coast, where things are expensive anyway, yet Fred Meyer (kroger) had their brand at two for five, about late last summer. In the check out line, everyone was turning around and asking each other if they’d got their butter!
Ellie says
Saw a pound of butter at a market in Castle Rock, Washington for over $7 a pound on Feb. 13, 2016.
Michelle says
The absolute lowest I can find is 5.50/lb. Store brand. I can go to Safeway and get organic butterror for $6/lb. This is rediculous! Our “sales” last winter brought the prices down to 3.50/lb and that lasted for a week. I started a hflc diet a few months ago and I am floundering! Butter, or rather, ghee, is a mainstay. I am beside myself. Other dairy products for not seem to be seeing this kind of raise in price, other than the heavy cream, which is another staple. Foodies unite! This must end!!!
Michelle says
Ph, and I am in Northeast Oregon where the nearest Costco is around a 2 hour drive, so we have never bothered with a membership. We only have a Walmart, Safeway, and Grocery Outlet to shop at. I have been buying coconut oil to supplement the lack of butter, but it isn’the the same!
Joe says
Note the farmer’s comment about the shortage of corn. I expect a lot of the has to do with the Government demanding ethanol in gasoline. Not only does it not help the environment, it drastically cuts into the supply of corn for cattle feed. Expect beef and dairy prices to suffer.
Joe says
This article is from Scientific America:
Today’s corn crop is mainly used for biofuels (roughly 40 percent of U.S. corn is used for ethanol) and as animal feed (roughly 36 percent of U.S. corn, plus distillers grains left over from ethanol production, is fed to cattle, pigs and chickens). Much of the rest is exported.Mar 5, 2013
Joe says
Here is a link”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/04/20/its-final-corn-ethanol-is-of-no-use/#60ddc54e2ca2
Geoffrey Briggs says
Here is a perspective from the UK. The price of 1 pound of butter here is $3.30 pretty much everywhere. This price is highly political because until recently the price had been forced down by the large stores (Walmart, Safeway etc.) to levels that farmers claimed were unsustainable. So the Government got involved and coerced the retailers into charging more. We also have the EU Common Agricultural Policy involved which restricts supply via the Milk Quota. I am very surpised that Butter prices are so high in the USA because I had believed that US farmers were more efficient than over here and there was less market interference. When I first visited the USA over 40 years ago I was amazed how cheap grocery prices were. It’s now the opposite.
Bethany Lotulelei says
How interesting! Thanks for sharing your experiences in the UK, Geoffrey!
-Bethany (Laura’s assistant)