Endless Drought Means Rising Prices At The Grocery Store
Shoppers looking for relief at the grocery store check out lane will have to keep watching the weather forecast. The historically-dry conditions in the Midwest are setting the food industry up for non-stop, record-setting high prices.
Experts say that over 60-percent of the nation's farmlands are experience drought conditions. 26 states have declared almost eleven-hundred counties disaster areas on account of the lack of rain. And, forecasters are seeing no relief in sight.
This endless drought is being compared to the nightmarish drought of 1988, and if it persists into August it could become perhaps the worst drought that America has ever seen. The USDA says that approximately 60 percent of all corn in the country is experiencing “moderate to extreme” drought conditions. If this drought does not end soon, the losses are going to be mind blowing. Already, it is estimated that farmers and ranchers have suffered billions of dollars in damage.
All of this equals higher prices at the grocery store.
On Friday, the price of corn hit $7.50 a bushel.
It had been thought that the price of corn would only be about $5.00 a bushel this year.
At this point, the price of corn is up 48 percent since mid-June, and it could go a whole lot higher.
Some analysts are projecting that if this endless drought persists, we could see ten dollars for a bushel of corn and 20 dollars for a bushel of soybeans.
And yes, you will notice this at the supermarket.
Devastatingly, there is nothing that the farmer can do; Weather is totally out of their hands and the costs of irrigatuion
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