Analysts predict the price will climb another 5 to 8 percent this year.
Producers, who struggled with high feed costs and diminishing profits, began shrinking their herds nearly five years ago. Since then, demand from overseas markets has shot up and claimed more American beef.
"Which not only caused many producers to liquidate their cattle, but we've also seen an extreme shortage in feed," said Chandler Goule from National Farmers Union. "Therefore driving the price of actually producing these animals to go up."
The last time the number of cattle in this country was this low was when Harry Truman was president.
ABC News contributed to this story.
