Produce costs are impacted by fuel and other things. Fuel prices are like taxes, groceries, utilities, housing, building materials, tools, shipping fees, automobiles the worst I’ve ever seen in this country in my lifetime. $4 a gallon unleaded gas $5 a gallon diesel has dropped only slightly.
AAA Gas Prices. Farming costs are going to be very high this year. These prices will be passed on to consumers. If there is a fruit crop this year the price per bushel will quadruple at least at the currrent rates. These prices have nothing to do with covid but they might have to do with how people responded to covid.
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I’d say just about every product is impacted by fuel prices. Too bad the government leaves fuel and food out of the reported core inflation rates.
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Noone who can see questions inflation is the highest its been in our lifetimes. We all know what’s going on Current US Inflation Rates: 2000-2022 | US Inflation Calculator
Officially they say it’s the highest since 1982
“The annual inflation rate for the United States is 7.9% for the 12 months ended February 2022 — the highest since January 1982 and after rising 7.5% previously, according to U.S. Labor Department data published March 10.”
Produce has not began to go up yet it will make lumber costs look cheap soon.
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Produce is definitely up at my local grocery stores.
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We haul produce with trucks, mow around trees and vines with mowers they all need fuel. Semis transport from location to location takes fuel. Once it arrives at the store their electric bill like mine has doubled. It’s just beginning to get ugly.
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Sad thing is that the prices on the shelves and markets will likely not go back down. Even if gas prices go to $2 a gallon…
There is nothing that a citizen can do about it except not buy as much… if they do that then the supply vs demand thing kicks in…and things become even more expensive.
We have dealt with this before with FDR… and what a mess that was. Without getting into politics… here is historical reference as to how he dealt with inflation and depression. None of which would fly today.
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Roofing rubber has doubled.
Drain pipes up 30%.
Large scale greenhouses may keep some food prices under control here…if they can find pickers.
Transportation shouldn’t be too bad.
Bulk mulch has gone up $1 to $3 per scoop.
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The garden mix soil I buy from local landscape suppliers has risen from $30/per cubic tard to $42 per cubic yard. At this new price for this year, I have already bought five yards at this price, and did so happily. Dirt without rocks and boulders in my area is only going to become more valuable as we move forward. Pretty much every Friday, I get off work early enough to load up my truck and take it to my yard or my in-laws. Grow your own is about to become essential.
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Diesel in food transportation is the smallest component of the price of food. Semis get 9 Miles per gallon but carry a fantastic amount of goods to spread the costs. We all have been buying products at an artificially low price by “SLAVE” labor in China and the other 3rd world countries using “SLAVE” labor. It now would cost me $10 to drive my 84 Diesel rabbit 100 miles instead of $7. Not all that much considering I drive an average of 20 miles a day.
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For two years almost since 2020 we have been seeing issues with supply. Part of the issue is that we get everything trucked into our country in the USA. Seldom is things grown here food wise. This is what created shortages with the docks for a period of time. Likely other problems will be caused by this like rising prices on everything as you said. Let me put it this way when I got my position in my new office in 2021 around August I got a 6 or 7% COLA per union contract. My wages no only went up with career employee advancement at USPS but it went up something like 96 or 98 cents per hour for the first half of 2021. To edit the Post I made I just checked my union with the APWU. It looks like in the past year I have been working our wages have gone up a dollar again. That means in about a year it has gone up 2 dollars a hour to live.
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Yes 2021 & 2022 will be remembered as highest inflation since the early 80s. Wages went up which devastated small businesses. Its hit hard in Kansas. Many jobs were lost and companies closed in 2021. It’s getting much worse everyday here. Higher paying jobs pay the same but lower paying jobs pay much more. Skilled labor is dissappearing in this state. Many families have said they cannot afford clothes , food, shelter, day care since the price of everything went up. Many families have one parent staying home since they cannot afford day care. A labor shortage started all over the state in 2021. Hard to believe we went from a land of plenty in 2020 to this. Stagflation was really bad in the 1970s which is what this feels like. That’s double digit inflation! The inflation rate is supposed to be around 8% but some say its much higher. United States Inflation Rate - February 2022 Data - 1914-2021 Historical. That means anyone making $60, 000 x .08 should get a $4800 raise just for inflation and then their normal raise. we are assuming that you work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks per year. In that case, you will be working 2,080 hours per year.
When figuring out how much $60,000 a year is per hour, you just need to divide your total salary by the number of hours you work. In this case, the answer is $28.85 an hour, more than four times the federal minimum wage in 2021.
Here’s the breakdown:
- You are earning $28.85 per hour.
- Your per-day earnings are $230.80 if you work eight hours per day.
- Your per-week earnings are $1,153.84 per week if you work 52 weeks a year.
- You are earning $2,307 every two weeks.
As for your monthly earnings, they amount to $5,000. If your keeping up with inflation only you would make $64,800 per year before your yearly raise which is typically 1%-3% depending on performance. Taxes etc can be figured as well here $60,000 a Year Is How Much an Hour? | GOBankingRates
Went to get hair cuts 3 times and the sign said closed no employees.
44% of employees are looking for jobs because employers can’t meet their needs https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/great-resignation-continues-as-44percent-of-workers-seek-a-new-job.html
Many people are looking for that 2020 standard of living they had which seems to be gone for now. There is a seperate topic on this https://growingfruit.org/t/inflation-ouch/43531 .This means there will be less people that want to work in the fields harvesting produce this year and labor and fuel costs will go up.
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And my post office box fee increased 45 % in 3 years …
I’d let multiple people use my address for 100 dollars a year…but, no, that’s not legal.
So, let’s change the subject back to the cost of produce
(and to raising some for ourselves).
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I believed John Rowe from dirty jobs and went into plumbing as a skilled trade. At least in our plumbing union the family members and friends of the family members stayed busy. Even if you did not have a mechanical ability they would have you drive a truck if you were related or a friend of someone. I was not a friend or family member of someone so I got laid off half the year. I can see why skilled trades could become a issue at least on the union side for labor because people have not had the best experience in the trades union at least. I can’t speak for the non union side. 60k a year sounds like a lot until you figure out you pay 1/3 of that in taxes, her rent just went up 600 dollars every place renting so some apartments are 3000 dollars now (my coworkers rent in Denver just went from 2400 to 3000) then you pay car insurance, gas, housing or renting insurance, water and electricity etc. all of a sudden that 60k goes real fast. You said 2400 dollars every 2 weeks so my coworkers rent costs most of his wage right there.
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$60K in a metropolitan area goes much faster than it does in a rural area. People around here can live very, very comfortably on $60K a year.
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A friend moved from Long Island to a town in Illinois. He estimates he is saving $16000 a year. That covers a lot of produce increase.
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We’ve lost the general store closest to us (about 4 miles). The store is just sitting there, don’t know if it was sold or not. Another one about 9 miles from us closed a couple years ago.
The newly closed place was in business for many years, they sold groceries, gas and diesel, propane, some hardware and auto/farm supplies. Plus it had a dining room for breakfast and lunch. Really hurts our community losing it.
Now if we want anything, we have to drive 16 miles to the nearest town.
Don’t know why it closed, but I’m sure the covid situation didn’t help its business. Many months during that time you couldn’t even go in the place, you had to order it at the window.
Regarding inflation, have you noticed that food products cost more, but have less in the packages? Same logos, nutritional info, but less product.
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Shrinkflation
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I noticed it at the Dollar Tree, I was getting small packs of beef jerky, and a year ago, you’d get 0.9oz for a dollar, a few months later it was 0.75oz.
My wife scored on some big packs of jerky at a local Speedway, got a bunch for 75% off. Wish she would’ve bought more. Jerky has and is been crazy expensive.
Also seen that Family Dollar prices aren’t a dollar on a lot of their products, it’s now $1.25. Maybe they should change their name? Something like ”A bit more than your Family Dollar".
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Noticed ‘saltines’ at the dollar store short on content…despite price increase and same old sized box.
Just one ‘for instance’.
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My ‘dollar’ stores Family/General/Tree all seem like social experiments. In my area they are not consistant AT ALL. If i go to one that has a good ‘manager’ then the store is fairly decent…but there are some that look like the aftermath of an apocalypse.
Each store reflects the ‘manager’… and their personality or work ethic.
My Dollar Generals have been experimenting with a produce area… they have fruits/vegetables/salads etc. I dont trust it myself. I have no idea how they can keep it going and fresh.
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