Another friendly food price warning.

The USDA announced today that corn prices have doubled in the last 6 months due to an increasing global demand; and they are only going up.

If you don't eat corn you probably won't be effected to bad by this.
Just Kidding.

Corn is used to feed cows, hogs and chicken.
It is turned into a syrup that sweetens soft drinks and other foods. Including my beloved Doritos.

It's also converted to ethanol gas for fueling our vehicles.

Shoppers could see higher grocery bills as early as three months from now, though most of the impact won't be felt for another six months, said Scott Irwin, an agricultural economics professor at the University of Illinois.
Chicken prices are among the first to rise because the bird's life span is so short that higher feed costs get factored in quickly, he said. Price hikes for hogs take about a year and cattle two years. Prices on packaged foods take six or seven months to rise.   -Omah World Herold

So in 6 months we can expect our grocery bill to go up because of corn.
Well... my grocery bill is already going up. So in 6 months it's going up again?

My wife and I are already paying nearly double the price we paid last year for the same amount of food.
So by their logic. In a half a year around July, we are going to have a price hike in corn products. My $15 dollar boneless chicken breasts that cost me $8 last year could cost me up to $30 in July; prime BBq season!?
What about steak? $40, $50? Each?

“There is not one crop you can point to that is without supply problems,” Steve Nicholson, a commodity procurement specialist at International Food Products Corp. in St. Louis, said before today’s USDA report. “Production is not keeping up with demand, exacerbating the global food crisis.”   -Business week

Corn is up 95%
Wheat is up 84%

These are record breaking prices. The demand is so great that the rich countries are paying more and the poor countries that can't afford it are going hungry. Then they are rioting.
The biggest importer right now is Asia. They are buying it for surplus. More than they need. They are expecting a bad drought for several years and planning ahead.

He said buyers were switching from US corn to buying Australian feed wheat and they were also worried about the state of the US winter wheat crop.
"Kansas was hit recently by a 'winter-kill' which means it was hammered by a frost. A third of the crop is now rated poor to very poor, so people are getting nervous about the supply of milling wheat."   -Weekly Times Now

With grains increases come increases to grain products. Not just bread and pizza dough. But milk, cheese, ice cream.
Not to mention cattle, pork, chickens are all fed grains.
Wait... they already told us meats were going up in price because of corn, now they are compounding because of wheat increase too!? My $15 dollar boneless chicken breasts that cost me $8 last year could cost me up to $40 in July; prime BBq season!?
What about steak? $60, $70? Each?

I guess I'll have to start eating tofu burgers.



Not really.
Soy products are up 57%

It isn't a bad idea to buy extra now and stock up. If you spend an extra $100 now and in a couple months that $100 is now worth $150 you've saved $50.

I should also mention that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has placed a rather odd order they are calling it an 'emergency order'. They are buying out all the large freeze dry company stocks; they need to feed 6 million people for 14 days. And they need it now. And they are charging the tax payers for it. And I can tell you that they aren't planning on saving any of the lesser folk like us; we are cattle to them.
So if USA and China (and probably Russia) is stocking up to save their own butts; why wouldn't we?

Food isn't hyper inflated yet. We can still afford food. Buy Extra. Buy canned food. Buy food you are going to eat. If nothing else happens then you have some good food insurance. Don't go buy food because you think the world is going to end because that is stupid.
Just remember. Last year we paid $75; this month $150. In 6 months... $300? $500? More?!

Go buy extra food and learn how to make your own so you can save money.
No one else is going to take care of you so it's up to you to do it yourself.