So far this year, the United States has been hit by wet, cold, and extreme weather, which will make food prices go up at the grocery store.
Everyone knows that food prices are going up and that grocery store markups are at their highest levels ever. But because of the crazy weather so far this year, costs are about to go up even more. Torrential rains, flooding, and the possibility of an El Nio could have a big effect on agricultural production in the U.S. It's enough to make anyone worry about the weather.
Why are food prices rising?
Cemile Bingol/Getty ImagesExtreme weather all over the country is one of the main reasons why food prices keep going up.
Wet, cold weather could be the worst for California, where a lot of spring planting could be put off. Flooding in California hurt crops like berries, tomatoes, and leafy veggies. That could have bad results because the state grows almost half of the country's veggies, nuts, and salad greens like lettuce, spinach, and kale.
California's Salinas Valley, which grows more than 60% of the country's lettuce and is known as the "salad bowl," was hit by storms. This made it hard for farmers to plant, and they also had to wait until the flood levels went down to make sure the lettuce was safe from bacteria.
In February, the office of the agricultural commissioner for Monterrey County said that the damage to farms in the county was worth more than $336 million. More than 15,000 acres of crops have been damaged, including green lettuce, strawberries, wine grapes, celery, carrots, broccoli, and garlic.
The almond business in California, which provides 80% of the world's nuts, is also in trouble. Almonds depend a lot on bees, and bees don't fly in the rain or when there's a lot of wind, so they can't pollinate crops. Almost all prices went up by more than 33% in the past month.
Where else is extreme weather affecting food prices?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that Kansas, which grows the most wheat in the country, is seeing the worst winter wheat crop health in 20 years. Extreme weather like an El Nio system will hurt Kansas crops even more, which will raise the prices of wheat, corn, soybeans, and meat at the food store.
This comes after a major drought in the southern plains states, where parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas are still very dry.
