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Rising Cost of Corn Could Impact Groceries, Gas Prices

By: Homa Bash
Updated: July 18, 2012
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The price of corn is on the rise --and if hasn't already, it's going to hit you where it hurts -- your wallet.

Corn crops across the Midwest are devastated and analysts are predicting consumers will bear the brunt.

As Texans continue to slowly recover from the our drought, the Midwest is dealing with their own.

From the gas pump to the grocery store, it's affecting the one thing that's used in just about everything -- corn.

David Bordovski has been farming corn for years. Prior to that, he was an agricultural researcher at Texas A&M.

Last year's drought in Texas affected his sweet corn supply, but with the drought hitting the Corn Belt hard, he said the worst is yet to come.

"If you get high wind or hot temperatures when that corn is pollinating, it's going to dessicate the pollen and that kills your chances of having an ear of corn or a complete ear of corn," Bordovski explained.

If you think it's just your corn on the cob, canned corn or corn chips that will be affected -- think again. 

"It's used in our gasoline, there are sugar products, as well as oil products, and corn is found in almost all of our food," Bordovski said.

For Luellen Lawler, a working mother of two, any jump in prices at the grocery store hits home.

She said the recent cost hikes are affecting everything -- from buying dog food to getting food on the table.

"It's hard. You've got to budget, find where you can make those cuts and where you can't. It just makes it harder on everything, trying to get food on the table and provide for your family," Lawler said.
 
If the weather conditions in the Midwest do not improve, Bordovski said the country will see plenty of long-term effects, such as the price of corn seeds jumping.

Also, since livestock farmers are huge consumers of corn for use in grain -- consumers may soon see a spike in meat prices.

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