Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 9/27/16


Declines in retail prices for meat, eggs and dairy products are combining to hurt the share of consumer wallets that American farmers receive from meals prepared at home, according to the latest American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) survey.

The organization’s Fall Harvest Marketbasket Survey — described by the group as an “informal survey” — indicates that the total cost of 16 food items that can be used to prepare one or more meals was $49.70, down $4.40 from the 2015 survey. AFBF noted that the average price of 13 of the 16 items fell, contributing to the overall 8-percent drop.

The decline in prices for such items as chicken breast, sirloin tip roast and ground chuck contributed to the survey drop, AFBF noted in a survey that tracks with the U.S. government’s Consumer Price Index report for food eaten at home.

The AFBF also reported that the share of the average food dollar that the nation’s farm and ranch families collect has dropped as grocery prices also declined. Farmers received about one-third of the average consumer retail food expenditure for food eaten at home and away from home through the mid-1970s, but that figure has fallen steadily and now is at 17 percent.

AFBF is the nation’s largest general farm organization and has conducted informational quarterly surveys since 1989. 

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