Grain Costs Down, Groceries Not

The Wall Street Journal
MARCH 13, 2009
By SCOTT KILMAN and LAUREN ETTER

Farmers to Cut Back on Planting Amid Market Weakness, Pressuring Consumer Prices
Commodity prices are down, but the bad news for consumers is that U.S. farmers are responding by cutting back their planting and production, reducing the chances of lower prices reaching the supermarket.

Clay T. Mitchell of Buckingham, Iowa, said he will reduce his corn acreage 26% when the planting season starts in mid-April. The 930 acres of corn that the 35-year-old farmer plans to grow would be his smallest effort ever, even though corn has long been his most profitable crop. He is planting more soybeans, which don't need expensive nitrogen fertilizer.

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