Beef prices are helping drive up inflation not seen since the early 1980s.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The annual inflation rate hit a 39-year high Friday, Dec. 10, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a year-over-year increase in the Consumer Price Index of 6.8%.

Energy and food prices led the way. Minus those two volatile categories, the inflation rate was 4.9%.

Central Washington orchardist April Clayton said her farm hasn’t benefited from higher food prices, but is paying more for fuel, chemical and labor.

“We’re not seeing the increase in grocery stores reflected in returns on the farm,” she said. “Everything in the (supply) chain is going up, and it’s hitting us hard.”

The 6.8% inflation rate is the worst since June 1982. Other large contributors to inflation included housing, clothes, household furnishings, and new and used vehicles.

Energy costs overall rose 33%. Fuel oil rose 59%, gasoline 57.5% and electricity 6.5%.

Food prices increased 6.1%, with beef prices rising 20.9%, the most among major food categories.

Meat, poultry, fish and eggs increased 12.8%, while fruits and vegetables rose 4%. Dairy products went up 1.6%.

President Biden blamed inflation on the global pandemic and said the Build Back Better Act would help families pay for health care and child care.

“For anyone who, like me, is concerned about costs facing American families, passing BBB is the most immediate and direct step we can take to deliver,” he said in a statement.

White House Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Deputy Directors Sameera Fazili and Bharat Ramamurti blamed meat packers for rising meat prices.

Tyson Foods, JBS Food and other meat-packers are profiting from an uncompetitive marketplace, the economic advisers claimed in a White House blog.

In response, the North American Meat Institute, which represents meat packers, said the White House was making a desperate bid to shift blame for inflation.

The Meat Institute said the White House was ignoring rising fuel costs, labor shortages and supply-chain problems.

“The White House Economic Council is again demonstrating its ignorance of agricultural economics and the fundamentals of supply and demand,” Meat Institute President and CEO Julia Ann Potts said in a statement.

R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard, whose organization represents ranchers, endorsed the White House’s view. Cattle prices continue to slump, even as retail prices rise, he said.

“There is no question that the marketplace is broke and that the White House is correct,” Bullard said. “We are grateful that this administration has focused on this very serious problem.”

The CPI includes spending by 93% of the U.S. population, missing some rural residents and farm families.

Clayton, who operates an orchard with her husband, Mike, near Wenatchee, said the farm’s costs are rising faster than the 6.8% inflation rate.

Labor makes up about three-quarters of the orchard’s budget, and it must compete for workers with three larger nearby farms, she said. Piece-rate pay rises along with minimum wages guaranteed under state and federal laws, she said.

“All of this is having an effect on us,” Clayton said. Unlike some other manufacturers, farmers can’t be pass on the costs, she said. “Unfortunately, in agriculture that’s not something we can do.”