The farm value of food has been on a downward trend for decades. In 1980, not even 20 years ago, the farmer got around 37 cents of every dollar spent on food. Now, we're barely getting 20 cents. You can't make a phone call, you can't buy a paper, you can't send a letter for two dimes. High Supermarket Prices Mask Commodity Price Declines Farmers and ranchers throughout the country are wondering why prices at the grocery store don't reflect the historically low commodity prices.
Farm prices dig record lows, yet retail prices climb.
As a result, the farm-retail price spread is at record highs. There is no consumer outcry. Probably the main reason is that, on average, a household doesn't spend much for food. Try as we might, humans can only eat so much, regardless of price. That amount is relatively static.