SARCOXIE, Mo. (AP) -- Cattle farmers in Missouri said prices for their cattle are the highest they've been in years.

Eldon Cole, with University of Missouri Extension Center in Mount Vernon, said the cattle market began to improve earlier this year. He attributes that to a better general economy, as well as a lower inventory of cattle.

The Joplin Globe reports that prices spiked to about $1 a pound in January and are now about 90 cents a pound. And Cole said beef inventories are down 5 to 10 percent.

Ron Plain, a state agricultural economist, said Missouri cattle producers have been reducing their herds for four years, and that's helping to increase prices.