Brisket prices are at record highs. BBQ restaurants are feeling the squeeze. And everyone's pointing the finger at imports, supply shortages and packer power. But what if they're all wrong?

In this episode we sit down with Lance Zimmerman, senior beef and animal protein analyst for Rabobank the guy banks call when they need to know what's actually going to happen. His answer might surprise you.

The real driver of record beef prices isn't a broken supply chain. It's demand. The highest beef demand since 1983. And the imports everyone is panicking about? They're actually keeping your brisket prices from going even higher.

Lance breaks down the 2026 beef crisis with hard data, explains why the herd won't rebuild as fast as anyone hopes, and tells us the one intervention that could actually move the needle.