Should I stock up on Corn Products?

[neverfullprice]

With all the midwest flooding I am hearing that corn products will be going up 50%. I have also heard that some stores are marking up products already in stock.
So my question is, Should I stock up on corn products now? I am talking about canned corn, cereal, syrup etc...
I have been acquiring a preety good stockpile of cereal, but only have about 4 weeks worth. I never see canned corn coupons so it would just be looking for the best price available.
What do you all think?

[luckimomma]

I'd bet everything is going up due to flooding- it won't be just corn products, but everything that uses them in some way, i.e., soda uses corn syrup, all meat products (don't all animals eat corn?) which will trickle down to eggs, milk, etc...

I'm going to try and start stocking up where I can. but in the long run, I think we'll all be looking at a huge jump in nearly everything, and it won't be just corn products, those farmers plant wheat and soy, too.

What's that saying- Hang onto your hats, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

[shelleyf]

What's that saying- Hang onto your hats, it's going to be a bumpy ride![/quote]

Unfortunately it's already begun. It is getting so expensive it's hard to understand how it can get any worse. I am praying for a change to happen soon and suddenly.

[MaryMary]

Originally Posted by luckimomma I'd bet everything is going up due to flooding- it won't be just corn products, but everything that uses them in some way, i.e., soda uses corn syrup, all meat products (don't all animals eat corn?) which will trickle down to eggs, milk, etc... I'm going to try and start stocking up where I can. but in the long run, I think we'll all be looking at a huge jump in nearly everything, and it won't be just corn products, those farmers plant wheat and soy, too. What's that saying- Hang onto your hats, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

That is correct, corn shortage is going to affect most of the other food products. It has started long ago, when corn was designated for ethanol. Current flood situation just made it worse.

[mama22qts]

Beef and poultry farmers have been slaughtering lots of their stock because of the cost of feed. Look for cheap meat prices and stock up now. And if you find a great coupon deal on corn stuff, do it.

Cereal deals do come around quite a bit, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. I'm going for cooking oil right now, as I haven't been able to find a good deal in a while.

[YankeeGal]

My worry wouldn't be about corn, its about beef, pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, milk and even farm raised salmon. They all eat feed that is corn based. Additionally, like mama22qts says, Im going to be looking at stocking up on corn oil, powdered milk and powdered eggs/egg beaters if anything.

I was also told by a Frito-Lay delivery driver that there is going to be a potato shortage due to the flooding in the mid-west. I questioned him about this, thinking potatoes come mostly from the NW, and he said no, many also come from the mid-west.

As for cereals? I read a report that stated only 2% of the ingredients in cereals are actually corn.

[YankeeGal]

Originally Posted by MaryMary That is correct, corn shortage is going to affect most of the other food products. It has started long ago, when corn was designated for ethanol. Current flood situation just made it worse.

I actually am in the process of writing an article about corn, ethanol and the relationship between increasing food prices.

Ethanol production uses field corn, not sweet corn. Field corn is the predominant corn type grown in the US, and it is primarily used for animal feed. Currently, less than 10 percent of the U.S. field corn crop is used for direct human consumption in corn-based foods such as corn meal, corn starch, and corn flakes, while the remainder is used for animal feeds, exports, ethanol production, seed and industry uses. Sweet corn is usually consumed as immature whole-kernel corn by humans and also as an ingredient in other corn-based foods, but only makes up about 1 percent of the total U.S. corn production.

So, what happened to cause a shortage? Last year all the farmers switched to growing field corn for ethanol, thus less farmers grew sweet corn. That has caused some of the increase in price, but only about $.10 for a normal box of cereal. This year, they are not growing the corn for ethanol, and are doing normal crop rotation, or choosing to plant soybeans, since they are at an all time high of around $15.00 a bushel.

The reason EVERYTHING is going up? Transportation costs. A gallon of diesel runs around $5.00 now. An average loaded semi-truck gets about 5-7 mpg, depending upon the route they are taking (obviously if they are driving through TX they will use less fuel than driving over the mountains in CO or perhaps more fuel if stuck in Los Angeles rush hour traffic). The cost to operate equipment to harvest the goods, to take them to market, to take them to processing plants, and to deliver them to distribution center and stores has greatly increased.

[MaryMary]

If no extra corn is designated for ethanol, where would they get a supply for fuel production?
And why last year increase has not come down or at least being absorbed by other expenditures?
What's happened to gvmt subsidies for corn production if farmers are not growing corn for ethanol?

[woogiebop]

My father laughs at me every time I bring this up, apparently because it shows my ignorance in some way, but it seems to me that with a fabulous railroad infrastructure in place that has served our country for 150 years, perhaps it would be more economical to make even better use of trains for transporting goods - especially in light of that mpg mentioned above!

But then, you're probably all laughing at the stupidity of this idea behind my backs. I'm a simple girl; it seems a simple solution. :)

[buddysmom]

Originally Posted by woogiebop My father laughs at me every time I bring this up, apparently because it shows my ignorance in some way, but it seems to me that with a fabulous railroad infrastructure in place that has served our country for 150 years, perhaps it would be more economical to make even better use of trains for transporting goods - especially in light of that mpg mentioned above! But then, you're probably all laughing at the stupidity of this idea behind my backs. I'm a simple girl; it seems a simple solution. :)

I dont think its stupid. I think its an interesting idea.