OKLAHOMA CITY -
As the
temperatures are heating up outside, the food forecast is also looking bleak.
The USDA says get ready for a price hike at grocery stores because of this
summer's drought that has hit more than half of the United States.
A drought can
affect the prices of just about everything at a grocery store. The USDA says
beef will be hit the hardest, increasing as much as 5 percent. The lack of rain
is tearing up crops and increasing the cost of feed. That, in turn, is making
meat, dairy and poultry more expensive
"We'll have to
decrease our grocery list," consumer Sowkanya Mittapalli said.
The higher prices
may be felt in the next several months. Economists say the full effect will hit
our wallets by 2013.
"Last summer for
us was horrible," Braum's CEO Drew Braum said. "We lost 80 percent of
everything we grew."
Braum's is a local
company supported by local farms. And, although this year is not as painful for
Oklahoma as last year, prices here will still go up.
"I think Oklahoma
will get impacted like the rest of the country, I really do," Braum said.
"Everything follows corn as far as feeding goes. Wheat will go up, soy beans
will go up, and that's happening right now."
Braum says flour
has already gone up 20 percent in the last week. That's a spike that has
shoppers at this Crest thinking of ways to save money.
"I might not come
[to the store] as often," Crest shopper Cheryl Loboda said. "I might have to
stretch it out a little bit more."
On some local
products, prices are dropping before the projected spike. Braum's says it will
lower the cost of milk at 100 stores on Monday.
The USDA says you
may notice poultry prices going up first because chickens are smaller, grow
faster and get to market faster.
A drought can affect the prices of just about everything at a grocery store.
