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USDA Report Will Not Affect Food Prices

By on January 13, 2014
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Most assume the prices of corn and soybeans will affect the price of your food.

Associate Professor of Economics at Iowa State University, Chad Hart, says that’s not the case…

“When you look at the relationship between the grocery store prices and the corn and soybean prices, it’s actually a very small relationship. I like to point out cornflakes. You pay more for the cardboard, than the corn in the box. That’s how small the relationship is.”

The latest USDA report was released last week and was discussed at Friday’s Iowa State Crop Advantage Meeting in Burlington. Hart says the only price change you may see is when buying beef…

“The biggest impact will probably be your meats. With corn prices being lower, it will help keep meat prices a little lower as we go from 2014 to 2015. Now, on the flip side of that, what we’re seeing is cattle numbers starting to shrink, and that will drive beef prices higher.It won’t however, be because of corn.”