corn prices

Last year, beef and pork prices were up an average of 6%, hitting carnivores' wallets hard every time they were at the grocery store. With wholesale meat prices already up 25% more than last year, the USDA is now warning consumers that this year's increases could be even worse. Bacon is the cut...

Food prices are on the rise, with the USDA now anticipating increases of 3% to 4% this year. But there are some ways to minimize the damage to your grocery bill. From shopping smarter to avoiding processed foods, learn some tricks to help stretch your food budget.

Besides the unemployed, nobody is getting hurt worse in this economy than seniors. Prices on many commodities are skyrocketing, but the Consumer Price Index, which is the yardstick used to adjust Social Security for inflation, is virtually unchanged.

The price of corn has shot up 8% during the week of Oct. 11 alone, bringing the total rise to close to 50% in the last three months. As farmers cull herds to save feed costs, meat supplies will shrink -- and the price of hamburger and pork chops will be rising.

Driving through the corn forest of western Ohio, I am often struck by how our farmers continue to thrive despite years of undependable weather and erratic markets. In light of the grain price spike of 2008 and the "ethanol vs. food" controversy, I wondered how such farmers viewed their market and...