Of the 16 items surveyed, 14 increased, one decreased and one stayed the same in average price compared to the 2007 first-quarter survey. As retail grocery prices have gradually increased, the share of the average food dollar that America's farm and ranch families receive has dropped over time. Using that percentage across-the-board, the farmer's share of this quarter's $42. AFBF, the nation's largest general farm organization, conducts its informal quarterly marketbasket survey as a tool...

The USDA reports that prices for wheat, soybeans and sugar are also at "near-historic highs. Farmers have been pocketing about $20 billion a year in taxpayer handouts, even as they enjoy record crop prices. Farmers in Washington state received earthquake assistance even when their crops weren't damaged. Farmers have received price supports and an annual "emergency" payout every year since 2001. In 2003, drought assistance went to farmers in hundreds of counties where investigators later...

The most recent data specific to Utah's food prices are from January, when prices were up 3.8 percent, compared with a year earlier. If oil prices were to fall or stabilize, Matthews said, then food price increases would stabilize, as well, but the likelihood of that happening is not very good. The co-op, which can save members as much as 50 percent off grocery-store prices, deals directly with wholesalers and purchases in bulk. Fruits and vegetables are also more expensive, up 6.7 percent...

But when the price for milk drops, he will grudgingly leave his cows and make the 15- to 20-minute drive to the farm services agency office in Liberty, sign his name to page after page of documents, and get a small federal subsidy to make up for the low milk prices. Home > News > Article Sullivan's farm office could close. But when the price for milk drops, he will grudgingly leave his cows and make the 15- to 20-minute drive to the farm services agency office in Liberty, sign his name to...

The spot cheddar cheese market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange serves as the benchmark for cheese prices and, therefore, influences milk prices. That could mean unfair prices for farmers or consumers. A thin market involves few brokers trading a quantity not large enough to provide an accurate price for the rest of the industry. Russ Feingold is concerned that some prices also are open to tampering. The spot cheddar market has about 20 traders at any given time, Chicago Mercantile...