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| Food Prices Now Up 16-Percent Since Last Year |
USAgNet
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Rising costs for fuel, feed and fertilizer propelled grain prices to all-time highs in June, raising the overall price of crops and livestock by 16 percent this year compared to last year. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released Thursday, prices for farm products rose 1.9 percent in June alone. Grain staples including wheat and soybeans rose 1.6 percent during June. The price of livestock rose less than 1 percent.
The annual report measures the price that farmers receive for their goods, not the ultimate price that consumers pay for food. Crops and livestock costs amount to a fraction of the final cost of food, after transportation, packaging and marketing costs also are factored in, reports the Associated Press.
The USDA report shows corn and soybean prices climbing rapidly since 2007. The cost for cattle and hogs has largely stagnated. Even though corn farmers seem able to pass on the higher cost of their fertilizers and fuel, meat companies haven't been able to do the same.
Corn and soybean farmers, on the other hand, are seeing more demand than ever for their crops. While exports are increasing, so is domestic use of the crops for biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.
Corn sold for an average of $5.61 a bushel in June, up 69 percent from $3.32 in 2007. Soybeans sold for $14.20 a bushel, nearly double last year's figure of $7.56. Corn went for just $2.14 a bushel in 2006 and soybeans sold for $5.61. |
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