Consumers May Feel Drought Effects at Grocery Store Checkout

You’ll start seeing the effects of the nation-wide drought soon on your grocery bill.

Your bill isn’t going to sky-rocket, but you will notice a difference – especially if you like dairy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects milk prices to rise 15 cents per gallon over the next month and another 40 cents by winter because cows don’t produce as much milk in the heat and it’s costing more to feed them.

If milk goes up, so will the cost of cheese. Prices are expected to rise 15 cents by November at the grocery store. It could also translate to less cheese on pizzas and in salad bars.

When it comes to prices of beef, chicken, and poultry, prices could actually go down in the short term. Farmers will likely be getting rid of animals because of the higher feeding costs. But meat prices are expected to rise over the coming months.

This drought is not as severe as what the U.S. went through in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl era. The Midwest, including Minnesota, was particularly hard hit. Farmers that year demanded help – they brought a starving cow and horse to the state capitol to show lawmakers their struggles.

As the drought got worse, it was a common sight to see farms abandoned because all of the crops were ruined.