Drought to drive up grocery prices

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The United States is facing the largest drought since 1950's.

Many farmers are already feeling the impact on their livelihood, and eventually, this drought will hit your wallet.

The month of June ranked as the third driest month in at least 118 years. That means many farmers in the Midwest are seeing signs of damaged corn crops, and experts say, that will bring up the price of our groceries.

Only a third of corn crops were rated good or excellent in July, and the hot, dry weather is to blame.

So far 26 states have declared an emergency conservation order, and in just 3 or 4 months, we'll see the full effect of this drought, starting at our grocery stores.

Corn is used to make feed for animals in our food supply chain.

As the drought reduces the harvest of corn, the price of animal feed will go up, and ultimately, that will drive up the price of meat products.

Sheldon Hanson of Springfield told 22News, “Electric bill's going up because the AC is running. Gas price is already high. The last thing we need to grocery prices going up. We all need to eat every day.”

Many people told 22News, because food is a necessity, they hope they can find ways to cut spending elsewhere.

Margaret Powis of Wilbraham told 22News, “I'm down to where I can't save any more. When you have a fixed income, you sit down and work out your budget.”

Joe Dusel of Wilbraham said, “You don't go out to dinner as much. You don't go to the movies, and you watch your travel during the summer, and that's pretty much. You gotta stay with necessities, so to cut that out, it's difficult.”

We can expect to see a small increase in prices in the next two or three months. Then in 2013, we'll see the full effect of this summer's drought.