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Rising corn feed costs prompt increase in meat pricesDES MOINES, Iowa (AP)--Years ago, L.A. Adams would stop off at the grocery store on a whim and pick up some hamburger to toss on the grill. The price wasn't much of a concern. Not any more. "Everything is going up," said Adams, a 51-year-old from Des Moines who lives on disability payments. Across the country, food prices have soared by the largest amount in 18 years, and the situation could get even worse at the meat counter. Largely due to the surge in prices for corn-based feed, the cost of everything from chicken to catfish will likely rise. Prices are expected to climb as much as 15 percent by early next year, economists said. "I don't think we've seen anything like the full effect for consumers," said John Anderson, an extension economist with Mississippi State University. "At the retail level there's been lots of talk about cost inflation, but most of what you're seeing as far as higher costs beyond the farm's gate is related to higher transportation costs." Anderson estimated that prices for corn-fed products like beef, poultry and pork would rise from 5 percent to 15 percent. A package of meat that costs $5 now, for example, could cost as much as $5.75 in early 2009. The increased costs for meat are directly linked to soaring corn prices, now hovering at nearly $6 a bushel. Corn is a prime ingredient in feed, the number one cost for livestock producers. Anderson and others said the full impact of corn prices hadn't been passed along to consumers. But in the coming months, producers would reduce supply in an effort to reduce supplies and regain profitability. John Lawrence, an Iowa State University professor and director of the school's Iowa Beef Center, said livestock producers are losing money in large part because of corn's historic prices. "The costs for livestock producers have increased to the point where most of them aren't even breaking even right now," Lawrence said. "When that happens there are two ways to raise prices. One is a stronger demand, and the other is a smaller supply. Lawrence said consumers could start to see increased poultry and pork prices by the fall. The cattle industry adjusts more slowly, he said, but the effects will probably be evident by early 2009. "The livestock industry is adjusting," Lawrence said. "Hog producers have been losing money. The poultry industry has seen its feed costs doubles. The cattle industry is losing money." For shoppers like Adams, that means visits to the grocery store won't get any easier. As she finished up a shopping trip to a Dahl's market in Des Moines, Adams said she prides herself on finding bargains but worries that food costs could be too much for her budget. "I have to be very conscious," she said. "You have to watch the advertisements. Maybe they have a two for five deal. Whatever you can do to make it work. "Every time you go in you feel like the prices are going up," she said. "I have a hard time keeping up." 6/9/08 Date: 6/4/08
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