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Jeff Riggs and his family cut the ribbon to celebrate his company's renovation of the Elks Lodge Saturday. Jeff's partner Keith Waring stands to the right,
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By Mark Moran - Producer-Editor, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - Agriculture experts say Montanans are feeling the effects of high food costs, with prices are more than 5% higher than the national average. A farm group blames corporate greed. Ag producers say increased regulations, factory closures and avian flu are to blame. Comments from Joe Maxwell, chief strategy officer, Farm Action.
Click on the image above for the audio. Consumer advocates say higher grocery prices are no longer the result of supply-chain issues, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Adobe Stock)
Mark Moran
November 18, 2024 - Farm advocates say price gouging on meat and poultry are taking a toll on Montanans.
A farm group cites U.S. Department of Agriculture data as proof of corporate greed, and says companies are still using supply-chain issues as an excuse for inflated prices.
Companies faced massive supply-chain disruptions during the pandemic. But Ag Department data show most of those problems are gone - and food prices in Montana haven't dropped.
Groceries here are 5% higher than the national average and egg prices are up 50% since last year, according to the Consumer Price Index.
Joe Maxwell, chief strategy officer with Farm Action, said food producers are looking for ways to keep prices artificially inflated.
"And it's just a part of their doing business now," said Maxwell. "They find excuses in the markets to gouge that consumer. And one thing we want to be very clear on is that the consumer knows it's not the farmer. The farmer's getting squeezed just as much as is the consumer."
Food producers have blamed the supply chain, but also plant closures and a strain of avian flu for supply and demand issues - driving up production costs.
Farm Action is the same group which, not long after the official end of the pandemic, asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate egg prices - which had tripled in some cases.
Maxwell said Ag Department data show the numbers did not justify the price hike, and adds corporate food producers have positioned themselves to have outsize control over the market.
"They've got that control over the farmer, not unlike oil companies have over oil fields," said Maxwell. "They now have that control because there are very few buyers of farmers' commodities, so they have that control over the farmer, the producer."
Farm Action has also been critical of large, corporate operations that raise thousands of animals in confined spaces, which have been known to pollute air and groundwater.
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PNS - Monday, November 18, 2024 - House Democrats want the Gaetz ethics report released. Trump's Energy Secretary pick could jeopardize the future of U.S. climate action, and Lara Trump could fill Marco Rubio's place in the Senate.
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PNS - Monday, November 18, 2024 - Biden allows Ukraine to strike Russia with long-range U.S. missiles. CA expert: Trump works to greatly expand presidential power. Group blames corporate greed for MT food price gouging. Hunger Free Colorado celebrates 15th birthday.
