As the temperature has continued to rise since spring, so has the price of meat. Just in time for grilling season, meats have reached their highest prices of the year.

Matt Tingle, a senior from Cary, N.C., said he bought cheap meat that cooked quickly to save time and money.

“Since steak is expensive, we are buying more brats, hotdogs, chicken and hamburger, and that way we can still buy beer on a tight budget,” he said.

College students are not the only ones looking for a way to cook out for less. Kevin Miller, meat manager at Hy-Vee, 3504 Clinton Parkway, said people were buying more chicken and cheaper cuts of meat as beef and pork prices have increased.

“The number one and two items sold since the prices have been up are two different cuts of chicken,” Miller said, “which is unusual for this time of year.”

Prices have gone up for a number of reasons. The demand for grilling meat is high this time of year and the supply of beef and pork is lower than it was this time last year. MJ Ranch, a family-owned ranch, sells its beef to local stores and individuals.

Prices did not go up on MJ Ranch beef this year, Joyce Williams, co-owner of MJ Ranch said, and they had already sold all of this year’s meat.

“We didn’t want to raise our prices in the middle of the year,” Williams said. “We’d rather sell all of our beef than part of it.”

Some stores are catching on to the idea that people are looking for a cheaper way to grill out this season. Instead of loading up on the more expensive cuts, they are purchasing more of the cheaper cuts that are selling so well.

“People are starting to be more adventurous and are buying things like a ribeye instead of a filet,” said Joe Freemond, a butcher at The Community Mercantile.

The high prices of beef and pork have leveled off at the highest price of the year and will probably remain high until the fall, Miller said. Despite high meat prices, there are options to continue grilling on a budget.

“Some of the cheaper cuts tend to have a lot more flavor,” Freemond said.