Farm Headlines for Monday January 23, 2017
Inflation Up, Food Prices Unchanged
Overall inflation over the last 12 months increased 2.1 percent, but food prices remain unchanged. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers was up .3 percent in December, with gasoline prices up three percent. But the food-at-home index fell 0.2 percent, its eighth consecutive decrease that reflects an overall 0.2 percent decrease over the last 12 months. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes fell in December. The fruits and vegetables index posted the largest decline, falling 1.1 percent as the index for fresh fruits declined 2.2 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs fell 0.4 percent in December as the beef index fell 0.8 percent and the index for eggs decreased 3.9 percent. The index for nonalcoholic beverages fell 0.3 percent, and the cereals and bakery products index declined 0.1 percent. The index for dairy and related products increased 0.4 percent in December after falling in November, and the index for other food at home rose 0.3 percent.
Rising Global Temperatures Poised to Crush Crop Yields
Scientists say if global temperatures continue to rise, the United States faces big drops in harvests of major food crops by 2100. A climate impact research document says the rising temperatures may ultimately lead to higher global food prices. An international team of scientists wrote in the journal Nature Communications that by the year 2100, if global emissions rise at "business as usual" levels, the world will see twice as many days with temperatures above 86 degrees Fahrenheit as it does now. Because crop yields start to drop when temperatures reach that level, it suggests U.S. wheat yields would fall by 20 percent, corn by 50 percent and soybeans by 40 percent by the turn of the century, according to computer modeling.
Source: NAFB News