Posted on 04/20/2014 9:50:27 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Alert shoppers are accustomed to watching food prices go up and down. But a string of forcesfrom droughts to diseasesis raising the cost of a trip to the grocery store at a rapid clip.
And it looks like it will be a while before the price pressure eases.
Some of that pressure is coming from Californiathe source of roughly half the nation's fruits and vegetableswhere a long-running drought is forcing farmers and ranchers to cut production. After the driest year on record, large sections of farmland are expected to lay fallow this year as the Golden State copes with an ongoing water crisis.
That could have "large and lasting effects on fruit, vegetable, dairy and egg prices," according to a recent USDA report, which said the full impact has yet to be felt.
Smaller cattle herds have forced meat prices higher in Marchup more than 5 percent from a year ago, as demand remained strong despite tightener supplies. Ranchers are getting higher prices for cattle and food companies are able to pass them along....
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Oh, yeah, they're cheerleaders for those who profit from the shady land deals.
Tell you how high prices are getting: Dad offered to build me another garden bed!
Me too. I take it as an insult to my intelligence. Thank goodness for unit pricing. I rarely look at the actual price. The unit price is what counts since it includes product shrinkage.
Outrageous price increase at the local Wally: Sargento cubed cheese, 1 pound: used-to-be price, $8.78 (which was already high); price now: $9.68. I'm switching to shredded cheese. Not as easy to use, but much less in price.
Doubt it will do any good, but I sent an email of complaint to Sargento.
Also don’t forget the millions on food stamps that get free food that drives up more demand and thus higher prices. Just like healthcare, government meddling drove those prices through the roof also when people started getting it for “free.”
Here is an unsolicited consumer tip to all companies that have websites:
If you have a Contact Us webform on your website, assign someone to reply to ALL postings received from it. And have that person report directly to the CEO with a daily or weekly report.
I have found that only a very small percentage of companies actually have someone on staff who replies to complaints that are received through their webform. That lack of response reinforces a consumer’s negative opinion of your company that caused them to write in the first place.
The government relies on this behavior to minimize the effect of inflation, adjusting the CPI for changes in consumption.
I’ve been thwarting the Grocer for many years; along with thwarting the Tax Man, it’s one of my favorite hobbies!
Here’s a chart showing when fresh fruits & veggies are in season, which means they are usually ‘loss leaders’ in your grocery store:
http://www.fruitsinfo.com/spring-fruits.html#api
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/foodsavings/tp/Cheapest_Produce.htm
I’m sure there’s a chart out there for veggies, too.
We’re raising another steer and two hogs for butchering this season. Laying hens are now a necessity! Our veggie garden continues to grow and we add small fruits and fruit trees by the dozens each season.
A few good garden books for producing a lot of food in smaller spaces:
“Grow More Food on Less Land...” John Jeavons
“Square Foot Gardening” by Mel Bartholomew
And...any books by Rosalind Creasy (Edible Landscaping), Barbara Damrosh and Elliot Coleman.
And don’t forget to plant some flowers for your SOUL. Even if Mother Government wants to harm us, life doesn’t need to be ALL misery all the time! :)
About half a gallon once the lyin’ king ensures that particular form of energy necessarily skyrockets. To near european levels. Uh, this ain’t europe.
One of our near-by stores in the Houston suburbs always used to have pages and pages of food coupons for edible items which you could clip and use if you have a “special card”. Noticed recently that there are almost as many pages but most of the items on sale are personal care products and non-edible items like washing powder.
I don’t shop every day but do stop in a couple of times mid-week and just buy those items that are on sale. Found Folger’s coffee this last week at $5.99 instead of $9.99 but it was just for one day only and since I have not seen it this low before did stock up. Store doesn’t seem to advertise the really good sales.
Europe is chock full of streetcars, buses, passenger trains, ferries, trams and other relatively inexpensive means of transportation and distances are nowhere near as far apart in most cases. We don’t have all that. We rely on automobiles.
Roger that. I lived in London for a couple of years in the early 60’s. You could get just about everywhere but like you said, distances aren’t that great. Part of the plan to further subjugate some of us.
What I have noticed in our local stores is that the “sale” items often are not sale-priced,but are marked in the ads as “every day low prices” That’s a joke. Some items don’t change much,but I’m sure these are the things that will keep under long-term storage. The mess with the irrigation in California seems to me to be a problem easily solved....if someone would do it. The people that are the cause of that need to be prosecuted,IMHO.
The government and environmentalists have been driving farmers and ranchers out of business for decades...they got serious when Clinton was elected. It has been a war on those that produce our food, so it is no surprise that we now have shortages and high prices. Many seem to think we don’t need ranchers, farmers, dairies, fishermen...many seem to think their food comes from Walmart...
All that and not a word about how much of the Central Valley's water shortage was caused by the Feds to try (and fail) to protect the Delta Smelt.
Aldi’s is about 4 miles from me. I usually do my weekly shopping there 2-3 times per month.
Investors have been running to commodities for some time. So yes, prices of necessities have been going up.
U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/sdo_summary.html
Excellent advice!
that is the whole reason behind the EPA...picking winners and losers according to the party elite.....
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