BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//CalDiscovery//caldiscovery//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH DESCRIPTION:Austin: food\, Saturday (Sat Sep 19\, America/Chicago). Rollin g: the window moves forward every day\, so subscribe rather than download. Discovered and maintained by CalDiscovery (https://caldiscovery.com). Eve nt details belong to their publishers. Contains information from CalDiscov ery\, which is made available under the ODbL 1.0. SOURCE:https://caldiscovery.com/austin-tx/saturday-food.ics X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT12H REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT12H X-WR-CALDESC:Austin: food\, Saturday (Sat Sep 19\, America/Chicago). Rolli ng: the window moves forward every day\, so subscribe rather than download . Discovered and maintained by CalDiscovery (https://caldiscovery.com). Ev ent details belong to their publishers. Contains information from CalDisco very\, which is made available under the ODbL 1.0. X-WR-CALNAME:Austin · food · Saturday · CalDiscovery BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Seasonal WIC Incentive DTSTART:20260919T140000Z DTEND:20260919T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260912T000633Z UID:10001523-1789808400-1789822800@sustainablefoodcenter.org CATEGORIES:education,food DESCRIPTION:Food Access & Rancher Livelihood in Texas \n \n \n \n In Texas\, beef is more than an ingredient\, it’s a liveliho od – with 12 million head of beef cattle in Texas\, the Lonestar state i s the biggest producer of beef in the US. So why are Texans struggling to afford beef and what does the price of beef mean for Texas ranchers? \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Higher Beef Productio n Costs \n \n \n \n As the domestic (in the US) cattle herd reaches a 75-year low\, supply scarcity is one driver of high beef p rices. But since the 1950’s\, ranchers have become more efficient and ca n produce more beef with fewer cows. A larger driver of high beef prices i s higher costs to cattle raisers. For the past five years\, drought condit ions in beef-producing states like Texas\, Nebraska\, and California have diminished grass available for cattle to graze. Healthy and abundant grass on grazing land is essential to ranchers as a no to low-cost feed.  With diminished grass available\, ranchers have to purchase more feed to susta in their herds\, and that cost is passed to the consumer. Higher input cos ts also result in more heifers (female cows) being sold for beef in order to recoup input costs\, resulting in fewer calves in the herd and driving long term supply disruption. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Short-term measures necessary to turn a profit f rom beef drive long-term beef supply scarcity. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Anot her factor driving inflated food prices generally is the global nature of modern food systems. In beef for example\, ground beef is often a blend of both domestic and imported meat. Global conflicts in oil-producing region s over the last five years have increased fuel costs\, driving up food tra nsportation prices. Similar to the issue of ranchers trying to break even from higher feed costs\, when meat distributors pay more for transportatio n\, that cost is also passed to the consumer in order for the distributor to continue making a profit. \n \n \n \n Animal Lifec ycles in the Marketplace \n \n \n \n Clyde Sommerlatte \, owner of the Luling\, Texas-based 2 Bar C Ranch\, emphasizes the lifecy cle of cattle as a reason beef supply and prices are slow to regulate afte r a setback in production like drought. “From the time a calf hits the g round\, you’re looking at around [two years] to harvest beef from an ind ividual animal\,” Sommerlatte said. “And the breeding\, from inseminat ion to pregnancy\, is around another year before that. Overall\, ranchers are thinking and working three years in advance.” In Texas\, the return of the New World Screwworm (NWS) has also triggered restrictions on herd m ovement\, additional inspections\, and restrictions on cattle trade with M exico to prevent the spread of NWS. These measures are necessary but disru ptive for affected ranchers\, and coming on the heels of years of drought and decline in the number of cattle\, they make supply recovery and ranche r profitability an even greater challenge. \n \n \n \n Short Vs. Long Term \n \n \n \n For consumers\, per sistent beef price inflation has resulted in a higher cost to eating out a nd sticker shock at the grocery store. In SFC’s The Happy Kitchen cookin g and nutrition class\, course facilitator Joyce Harris shared\, “We hav e a joke in my family that we can give the dish the essence of meat. We ca n use meat as a condiment rather than the main attraction and that helps s tretch what we buy.” So when can shoppers expect to see beef prices fall ? In late August 2026\, the Trump administration waived import tax on beef intended to drive down beef prices by increasing supply. This move opened the door for 300\,000 metric tons of beef from Argentina to enter the Ame rican market. This move has been received positively by some as a means of reducing price pressure on beef\, though some US ranchers worry the suspe nsion of tariffs for imported beef will make it harder for US beef produce rs to turn a profit.  \n \n \n \n \n “We h ave a joke in my family that we can give the dish the ‘essence of meat ’. We can use meat as a condiment rather than the main attraction and th at helps stretch what we buy.”\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joyce Harris\n The Happy Kitchen Facilitator\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n In light of persistent heat and drought conditions that are likely to continue to affect grass availability\, efficiency-based solutions are an important piece of the beef production puzzle in years to come. Vetera n ranchers like Sommerlatte emphasize that beef production and prices are cyclical and the market will regulate with time. As Sommerlatte says\, “ You have to take care of the animals. You have to take care of the land\, and if you do that long-term the land will be here to take care of you.”   You can shop 2 Bar C’s selection of beef and other local food produce rs at SFC Farmers’ Market Downtown on Saturdays 9 AM – 1 PM. LAST-MODIFIED:20260912T000633Z LOCATION:SFC Farmers’ Market at Sunset Valley\, 3200 Jones Rd.\, Austin\ , TX URL:https://sustainablefoodcenter.org/events-calendar/seasonal-wic-incenti ve/2026-09-19/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=austin- tx X-SOURCE-NAME:Sustainable Food Center X-SOURCE-URL:https://sustainablefoodcenter.org/farmers-market END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Sammy's House presents - A Night at Copacabana DTSTART:20260919T230000Z DTEND:20260920T010000Z DTSTAMP:20260911T061838Z UID:458167-1789840800-1789840800@365thingsaustin.com CATEGORIES:community,food,music DESCRIPTION:Trade an ordinary Saturday night for Copacabana. Sammy’s Hou se is bringing dinner\, live salsa music\, dancing and auctions to Hyatt R egency Austin for its annual gala on Sept. 19. The celebration raises fund s for inclusive programs serving children with and without disabilities an d their families. It’s an Austin night out that pairs great entertainmen t with a great local cause. LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T061838Z LOCATION:Hyatt Regency Austin URL:https://365thingsaustin.com/event/sammys-house-presents-a-night-at-cop acabana/?utm_source=caldiscovery&utm_medium=ics&utm_campaign=austin-tx X-SOURCE-NAME:365 Things Austin X-SOURCE-URL:https://365thingsaustin.com/austin-farmers-markets END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR