Want Milk? Better Get Some Cash

BROOKSVILLE - If farmers have to pay more to process, package and ship that milk, it is going to cost more for those cart-pushing customers at the local grocery store.

That carton of orange juice may have to remain on the shelf. Those plums and pears will be missing from that fruit bowl in the kitchen. Maybe the next time dad ties the apron and dons the chef's cap to grill hamburgers, he won't be adding any cheese.

Gas and energy prices has driven up the cost of a number of items found along the aisles of the local grocery store - mainly fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy or anything else that shipped off a farm.

"When we see higher prices, we see consumer reaction," said Allison Specht, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation. "Demand has gone down a bit."

Perhaps the product that best resembles the sensitivity and unpredictability of the U.S. economy is milk.

One year ago, the cost of a gallon of milk was $2.97. Today it is $3.91.

The list of reasons for the price increase stretches far.

High energy prices put a lot of financial stress on farmers, who have to pay for the electricity at the processing plant as well as the gasoline for their fleet of trucks.

"We're seeing high energy prices across the board," Specht said.

When consumers see higher prices in the dairy aisle, they may decide to buy a half-gallon rather than a full gallon - or they may decide against buying milk at all.

Prices may not get much higher this year, but no one is saying for certain. Weather conditions - hurricanes, droughts, floods, etc. - also are a major factor.

"We are kind of predicting a leveling off, but there's plenty of volatility in the market," said Specht.