Farm Bureau's Marketbasket Survey shows an 84-cent jump in selected grocery items during the third quarter of 1996, the third straight increase of the year. Pork products continue to be the biggest contributor to the higher prices. The introduction of bacon onto fast-food sandwiches has increased demand for bacon , and this has translated into higher prices.
Supply is also slightly down.
Milk and cheese prices experienced a sharp increase. Milk production, as a result, has been cut back around 4 percent. A one-pound package of whole fryers increased 9 cents to 97 cents. Supply is also up, prompting the drop in prices. AFBF, the nation's largest general farm organization, conducts its informal quarterly marketbasket survey to help track retail food prices to ensure they are in line with prices received by the nation's farmers and ranchers.