Local Effect of Crop Flood Damage in Midwest

http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=8522406
Pocatello--President Bush is set to visit flood-ravaged lands in the Midwest Thursday. While the damage is thousands of miles away from East Idaho, there will be some impact here at home.
Some Americans are becoming disheartened as our economic climate is becoming worse. Endless fields of crops in Iowa and elsewhere in the Midwest are submerged beneath flood waters that have surged over levies.

More than a million acres of corn in Iowa alone are now ruined.
John Thompson, Idaho Farm Bureau: "It's a big gamble to be a farmer; there's so many things that can go wrong."

Record fuel costs have already caused food prices to rise, on average, about 5%. Now corn is up by $1.50 a bushel.

However, much of the corn grown in Iowa is used to feed livestock, not humans. That means there will be higher costs to feed cows, many farmers will liquidate and sell some of their herd, and meat prices will fluctuate.

Thompson: "You'll see meat prices drop, then with supply and demand, they'll go back up - there should be a spike over summer."

In the last few decades, the number of cattle in Idaho has jumped from under 200,000 to about 500,000. Corn production here to feed some of that cattle has spiked as well, as Idaho now grows about 300,000 acres of corn.

John Thompson of the Idaho Farm Bureau says farmers haven't seen this much volatility in more than 30 years.

Thompson: "Wheat prices have set all-time highs. That's been a big plus for Idaho farmers; however, everything they're buying is costing more."

But despite record prices of fuel and transporting food, fertilizers and supplies for farmers - on top of the far-reaching effects of these disasters - Thompson says this:
"One of the things I've learned about farmers over the years - don't ever count them out."