Dairy and Poultry Strongly Depend On Gas Prices

Drivers of Florida have already faced the record-high gas prices ? so have the farmers, which mean that consumers could soon see higher grocery costs as well.
Higher gas prices means higher trucking costs for farmers to pay when moving supplies in and moving product out. That could translate into higher meat, poultry, egg and dairy costs for consumers, industry experts told a Senate committee on Tuesday.
Research by American economists at the institute earlier this year showed that a 10 percent increase in fuel prices translates to about a one-half percent increase for consumers in the cost of meat, and an increase of almost a penny per dollar in the cost of poultry, eggs and sugar.
Rising fuel costs are one of the biggest challenges farmers currently face, said Kevin Morgan, associated director of agriculture policy for the Florida Farm Bureau.