10/22/08 Blaming commodities

It's been documented. We paid a lot more at the supermarket this past summer than we did in the spring, four percent more by the American Farm Bureau's market basket survey. Some blamed rising fuel costs for that hike. Many were quick to blame rising commodity prices, especially corn and wheat, for the higher grocery store prices. Like so many others Tom Buis of the National Farmers Union is asking the question; if the commodity prices caused the problem why aren't they now the solution. BUIS "We are preparing a letter to go to the relevant committees in Congress that held hearings earlier this year on high food prices and often with the tact of trying to blame farmers, and high corn prices and ethanol." Commodity prices have dropped significantly. Buis says wheat is about one fourth of its high water mark earlier this year. BUIS "Corn is about 40 percent so given their theory that bread prices and everything else went up because of high corn and wheat prices earlier they should come down by the same amount." He hopes that Congress will question the same witnesses they heard from in those earlier hearings. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott