04/01/08 Higher food costs

No doubt about it, our food prices have gone up dramatically. Try an eight percent jump in the first quarter of this year says American Farm Bureau's Jim Sartwelle. SARTWELLE "This is the largest quarterly jump that we've seen. Prior to this there was a jump in 2004 of about six and a half percent." So what is causing these food price hikes? Its all about energy cost for hauling, processing, packaging and transporting food products. SARTWELLE "Most folks will walk in and see what's happening with food prices and think the grocery and farmer are both getting rich off of it. The cost of operating for both ends of the industry and the processors for that matter are going up at the same rate." Of the 16 items on the Farm Bureau's Market basket survey flour had the highest increase. Milk, pork chops, toasted oat cereal and beef roast were the only items drop. Sartwelle suggests getting back to the basics at the supermarket. SARTWELLE "As you shift out of more highly processed items that are more highly packaged, require more energy to process them and move back to more stable food items we're pretty confident that most folks will be able to afford their food as they ride out this economic downturn." This downturn is occurring at a time when stock and commodity markets have going through volatile times. Voice of Idaho Agriculture