Posted on 09/19/2011 4:12:08 PM PDT by newzjunkey
… Beef, veal, pork, eggs and such dairy products as butter, milk and cheese have seen the biggest increases in the past year, said Richard Volpe, an economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The price of groceries rose 5.4 percent from July 2010 to this July, according to the USDA's latest report. ...
Now the rising cost of energy, the weaker dollar and growing global food demand are driving the price.
Beef and veal prices are expected to increase as much as 8 percent this year, with pork projected to go up as much as 7.5 percent. Beef prices are expected to climb another 4.5 percent to 5 percent next year as well, Volpe said.
"There are a couple of really good reasons for that. For one — and this is a story that pertains to a lot of foods — the U.S. dollar is very weak. That means the purchasing power of people abroad is stronger. There is strong demand for our protein-heavy foods, such as meat and dairy," Volpe said.
Exports decrease the domestic supply. Cattle and hog supplies are near historic lows after an increase in feed costs led to a large-scale sell-off of beef and hogs in the United States in 2008, Volpe said.
Droughts and floods also have led to increases in the price of wheat, corn and soybeans, all used for animal feed. Higher fuel prices affect everything, but especially dairy products. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
Hit the food market about 11am. By then the butcher has marked down the prices of meat that expire that day. Instead of paying $2.99 p/lb for chuck roast, the butcher has stuck a $3 discount tag on the package, so I buy a 3 lb. roast for $6. I stick it the freezer and make a pot roast on Sunday.
Same with fish. Go to your fish department on late Friday afternoon. If the fish monger has a big stack of fresh cod or ocean perch on ice in the cooler, ask if he’ll take half-price for a few pounds. Sometimes he will, sometimes not. I’ve bought fresh cod, my favorite, for as little as 99¢ p/lb.
Ditto with catfish. I’ll tell the guy I need $1 of catfish for the cat. He’ll toss in a pound or more and charge me a buck. Saves on the cost of catfood and keeps the mouser fat and happy for days.
In these times, sometimes you gotta be a scrounge to eat well.
I see lots of omelettes in your future:)
Well forgive me, lol. You know better than me! Good luck anyways! Sorry.
Do you know that the corn’s sugar only is used to make ethanol,and the remaining protein is used as high quality animal feed?Do a little research please.
In my area a gallon of whole milk was about $3.85 last year and is now $4.60.
The price of milk is killing us with four kids. Our (almost) four year old drinks a lot of it by himself. Aldi will a lot of times have it for very cheap and I’ll stock up. I found out you can freeze milk and I’ve got four gallons in the chest freezer in the garage. Last week I picked up whole milk for 99 cents per gallon (near the expiration date, but going in the freezer).
Very true, and then some.
Examples: I've observed a gallon of a quality name-brand chocolate milk has gone from $3.69 a gallon last year to currently $6.49 a gallon.
Real Cheese: Package of 24 single slices from $2.59 to 4.19 a package. My point: For every $6.28 I used to spend.. I must now spend nearly $10.68 for the same product, same content.. all thanks to inflation.
This thread got me to thinking. It really is amazing how our cooking and eating habits have changed over the last century.
My Granddaddy outlived grandmother by several years. When he was in his mid 80’s he was still living alone and taking care of himself fairly well.
One thing Grandpa did was keep a frying pan full of grease on the stove. He typically fried something every day. One day one of his daughters came by and noticed the frying pan. She poured out all the grease, scrubbed the pan and refilled it with fresh oil.
The next day, my Daddy stopped by to check on him. He complained that Aunt Mary stole his grease. He suggested that she was selling it.
bho... mmmmmmmmmmmm... mmmmmmmmmmmmm... mmmmmmmmmmmmm
LLS
The prices I quoted were on the civilian side. We get whole milk for about $3.00 per gallon at the nearby Commissary at the military base.
Our 16 year old son hits the milk pretty hard. I do not drink it as much as I used to. Vegetables, on the other hand.....
Gas here is $4.04, chicken thighs went from 3.98 a pkg. to 10.00, Coffee for the major brands anywhere from 10 to 14 for a less than a pound can. Just some of the examples.
When my grandson was in Alaska a gallon of milk was 10 bucks. He would buy it at near expiration for much much less and stick it in the freezer to use later.
It is amazing that people are scared of pig fat, yet will willingly consume hydrogenated veg oil. Ick. Gimme pig fat anyday.
If you are willing to shred the cheese, you can freeze it.
Shred and freeze=money saved.
You are going to love that part of life. We have 5 acres and we raised our own beef while the kids were growing up. We no longer raise them because I can no longer bring in my own hay and I hate fixing fences. LOL
Less than two years ago I decided that raising a couple of chickens might be fun.... 3 months later I had 27 layers. ;>) Then I wanted a couple of ducks.... now the place is full of ducks and geese. I am loving it. Fortunately our neighbors like us and take care of our critters when we are gone.
Years ago we always had our own vegetable garden. We miss the garden and plan to put one in this next year, along with a potato patch.
Good luck and I am sure you will enjoy much of this... it’s also great for your kids to experience.
LOL.... Yes, you sure have that right! As well as my relatives, my neighbors, friends and the folks at the food bank.
As it is, we take as many as 7 dozen fresh brown eggs to the food bank about every couple of weeks. ;>)
scuppernongs?
What’s that?
There's also more internal inflation caused by shrinking product. It often comes with new packaging or a new "improved" recipe.
Scuppernongs are wild grapes which have been cultivated. They are the same size as regular grapes except there are some which are pretty big. The vary from dark blue/red to white. They can be extremely sweet. The skin is tougher than regular grapes.
My vines produced a huge surplus last year but this year only enough for me to sample them. Probably due to the drought. Last year I gave them away and people literally carried buckets full away.
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