Category / USDA

by Hoosier Econ

Inflation Watch: McDonald’s Prices Up 3% Year To Date

mcdonalds

Bloomberg is out with a write up showing McDonald’s is facing rising costs which means prices have had to be raised. McDonald’s is a good inflation watch company since millions of people visit it everyday.

While the company still offers several items for $1, its menu is quietly getting more expensive. McDonald’s said its prices were up about 3 percent through the end of June compared with 12 months earlier. That’s more than the 2.5 percent gain in prices for food Americans purchased away from their homes in the year through August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Prices being raised across the country are not done yet.

U.S. restaurants plan to boost prices 2 percent during the next six months, more than the 1.7 percent average increase from the prior 12 months, according to an October survey by restaurant researcher MillerPulse in Atlanta.

This follows the trend repeated often on this blog. Costs of goods are rising, yet many so called “experts” are saying inflation is tamed or barely nudging up. My most recent post, Consumer Price Index Shows Inflation on Many Items shows beef is up double digits. Do not think McDonald’s is the only restaurant in the burger chain feeling it. In September I showed Five Guys Burgers are also raising prices (Inflation Hits Five Guys Burgers)

by Hoosier Econ

$385 Steak Now in New York City

Empire Steak House Offer Kobe Beef

Empire Steak House, owned and operated by the Sinanaj brothers, announced it will offer the hardest-to-find steaks in United States – imported certified Japanese Kobe tenderloin and ribeye. A choice of an 8-ounce tenderloin or 10-12 ounce ribeye will be priced at $385 and $375, respectively.
Kobe beef is a cut of meat from a special breed of wagyu cattle, called Kuroge. It is the only beef with unsaturated fat, which is filled with Omega-3 and Omega-5. Fed with rice straw that fortifies the cow’s stomach, soy, wheat, beef, and other secret ingredients in Japan, these cows are 30 percent larger than U.S. cows before slaughtering at 30 to 34 months of age, rather than the typical 18 to 20 months of age in the U.S.

Read the rest here

by Hoosier Econ

Court to US Government: Release Food Stamp Data

January 28th, the Sioux Falls Argus Lead newspaper won a case against the USDA in trying to get data on food stamps handed out in the United States.

For almost three years, the USDA, which runs the food stamp program, tenaciously fought to keep this information secret. They refused to hand it over when the newspaper made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. They refused again when the newspaper filed an administrative appeal. And they fought hard and won when the newspaper brought them to federal court in South Dakota.

But that all changed on January 28 when another federal court ordered the USDA to hand over the information. The U.S. Court of Appeals, based in St. Louis, struck down the South Dakota judge’s ruling, and held that the public and the newspaper are entitled to this information. The court brought a little sunlight to the USDA bureaucracy, and even quoted Justice Brandeis who said that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.”

This is a major victory for many groups who have been wanting to see where the $80 Billion/year program gets spent. Food stamps for some reason have turned into a taboo topic but the mounting reports of fraud and waste are too hard to ignore like this one.

Nona Clark operates a small Oregon convenience store. “In order to take food stamps, we have items like can meat, fruits and vegetables. No one buys this stuff and we have to throw it away because it expires,” she said.
“All your food stamp customers ever buy is candy; chips and cokes, then turn around and buy beer and cigarettes with cash,”

$80 Billion/year also promotes cronyism where businesses who accept food stamps do not want it to go away.

Retail chains that accept food stamps are fighting a regulatory initiative to make public store-by-store data on their participation in the $80 billion government program.
The 30-day comment period closed Sept. 10, and the 539 responses it generated included dozens from corporate retailers and food industry trade groups ardently opposing transparency on food stamp transactions, as well as small convenience store owners making the same case.

by Hoosier Econ

Ham Prices to Increase & Beef Herds at Record Lows

beef
Local Indiana butchers have been informed pork prices will increase by Christmas. Ham will be up by almost $1/lb. More data has come out supporting the jump in price on beef. Beef herds at their lowest in decades going below 30 million. That is a 11.8% decline since 2007.

by Hoosier Econ

NASDAQ & Producer/Consumer Price Index News

Here is some economic news I’ve picked up over several days pertaining to the stock market and prices on goods around the country.

About 47 percent of stocks in the Nasdaq Composite Index are down at least 20 percent from their peak in the last 12 months while more than 40 percent have fallen that much in the Russell 2000 Index and the Bloomberg IPO Index.

Here is a breakdown of Producer Prices

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that for the 12 months through August, producer prices increased 1.8 percent after rising 1.7 percent in July.

Prices for services related to securities brokerage and dealing fell 4.5 percent in August.

Gasoline index fell 1.4 percent.

Prices for utility natural gas, chicken eggs, diesel fuel, electric power, and raw cotton also moved lower.

The index for potatoes surged 28.0 percent.

Prices for pharmaceutical preparations and jet fuel also advanced.

Consumer Price Index showed decreases and increases as well. I highlighted the bigger jump in food prices jumping with inflation.

Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.7 percent. The energy index fell 2.6 percent, with the gasoline index declining 4.1 percent and the indexes for natural gas
and fuel oil also decreasing.

Food index rose 0.2 percent in August after increasing 0.4 percent in July. The food at home index was also up 0.2 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.5 percent in August, the largest increase among the groups. The index for beef and veal rose 4.2 percent, its largest increase since November 2003. The index
for dairy and related products rose 0.6 percent, and the cereals and bakery products index advanced 0.2 percent.

Over the last 12 months, the food at home index has risen 2.9 percent, with the index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs up 8.8 percent.

And finally, picked up an explanation on gas prices stabilizing or decreasing here lately.

The fall in the gasoline index can best be understood in terms of the increased oil productivity in the U.S. OPEC production continues to hover between 36mbd and 38mbd. BUT, non-OPEC output rose to a record 54.8mbd during July. Contributing to that record high is US oil field production, which is soaring and reached almost 9.0mbd in early September. The US is now exporting 3.7mbd of crude oil and petroleum products.

Hat Tip many sources

by Hoosier Econ

Inflation at Indiana Cattle Stockyards

Obtained some pricing from a person involved with livestock being brought in and sold at a stockyard in eastern Indiana.

Last week top grade cattle were getting $1.50/lb when brought in for sale. Just six years ago same person said going price was around .50/lb.

Stocking up on meat this winter would not be a bad idea.

by Hoosier Econ

Indiana Corn Harvest Begins

Hoosier Ag interviewed  Dan Emmert, field agronomist with DuPont Pioneer and he reported the following:

Harvesting has begun and early yields look good. Emmert says several fields along the Ohio river have been harvested, “Only the guys who are comfortable harvesting corn at around 20% are willing to start this early.” He expects most growers in SW Indiana to begin to work fields in about 3 weeks.

by Hoosier Econ

Beef Market Supply Dips Lower

The beef market supply is still low from the 2012 drought and supply numbers are still dipping which will only keep prices high for the foreseeble future. Here is the latest from the USDA.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, beef production came in at 2.09 billion lbs. That’s 9% down from last July. Slaughter totals are also trending down with 10% fewer cattle taken to the packer at 2.6 million head. However, live weights are moving up as feedlots and packers try to compensate for the loss of cattle. This July cattle averaged 1,320 lbs. when entering the processor, up 18 lbs. from last year. Overall red meat production was down 6% nationally. Only 3.91 billion lbs. of red meat was produced in this past month compared to 4.16 billion lbs. in July 2013.

From January to July of 2014 a similar drop off occurred with 3% less red meat produced at 27.4 billion lbs.