"Extreme weather has thinned the nation's cattle herds, roiling the beef supply chain from rancher to restaurant."

"Come grilling season, expect your sirloin steak to come with a hearty side of sticker shock.

Beef prices have reached all-time highs in the U.S. and aren't expected to come down any time soon.

Extreme weather has thinned the nation's beef cattle herds to levels last seen in 1951, when there were about half as many mouths to feed in America.

'We've seen strong prices before but nothing this extreme,' said Dennis Smith, a commodities broker for Archer Financial Services in Chicago. 'This is really new territory.'"

David Pierson and Tiffany Hsu report for the Los Angeles Times April 8, 2014. [2]