Farmer’s Share of the Retail Food Dollar

For a printable version of the following information from the National Farmers Union go online and click on the Farmer’s Share link on the left.

Product (unit) Retail Price Farmer’s Share Change
Multi-purpose Flour (5 lbs.) 2.89 0.59 -
Bread (Wonder, 1-lb. loaf) 2.99 0.12 =
Wheaties cereal (General Mills, 15 oz. box) 4.49 0.09 =
Beer (can, 6-pack Miller Light) 5.59 0.12 =
Soda (2-L bottle) 1.49 0.06 -
Milk (1 gal., fat free) 2.99 0.97 +
Potatoes (Russet, 10 lbs.) 3.99 0.59 -
Potato Chips (Lays Classic 13.5 oz.) 3.99 0.09 =
Cheddar Cheese (1 lb.) 4.99 1.13 +
Boneless Ham (per lb.) 4.29 0.44 =
Bacon (1 lb.) 2.99 0.44......... =
Top Sirloin Steak (1 lb.) 5.99 0.83 +
Eggs (1 dozen AA-L) 2.39 0.92 +
Carrots (fresh. 2 lbs.) 2.99 0.76 =
Lettuce (head, 2 lbs.) 1.79 0.64 +
*Retail prices are based on store brand except where noted from Safeway, Washington, D.C., May 1, 2009. Change is in relation to the farmer’s share from the previous month.

Farm Price Barometer
Commodity Crops Current Price Parity Price % of Parity
Barley (bushel) 4.78 9.23 52
Corn (bushel) 3.87 8.45 46
Cotton, Upland (lb.) 0.428 1.85 23
Flaxseed (bushel) 8.80 22.40 39
Oats (bushel) 2.16 5.58 39
Peanuts (lb.) 0.255 0.781 33
Rice (cwt) 15.70 36.40 43
Sorghum Grain (cwt) 5.57 15.10 37
Soybeans (bushel) 9.89 20.50 48
Wheat (bushel) 5.69 13.70 42
Livestock
Cattle (cwt) 82.80 241.00 34
Hogs (cwt) 43.40 132.00 33
Lambs (cwt)* 100.00 266.00 38
Dairy/Poultry
Eggs, (dozen) 1.020 2.15 47
Milk, All (cwt) 12.00 45.20 28
Milk, Mfg. (cwt) 11.30 42.10 27
*Lamb prices are one month behind all other prices in this analysis.

All prices taken from Agricultural Prices, USDA/NASS.

For more on food prices, see: Food Prices Drop Again

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