(NEWSnet) — If you are a fan of a good burger, brace yourself.

Prices for beef products, ranging from hamburgers to high-quality steaks, are expected to soar after the number of cows in the US plummeted.

The total cow population in the country fell 3% to 89.3 million in 2022, according to a Department of Agriculture cattle inventory report.

The number of milk cows has gone up slightly but beef cows plunged 4% to just under 29 million — the lowest total since record-keeping started in 1962.

Copyright 2023 NEWSnet. All rights reserved.