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• "The financial stress is starting to mount because the bills (to feed the cows) are bigger than they were six months ago," says Chris Galen, a spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation. "What will consumers will see as a result? That's where it gets a little murkier."
• One major factor that complicates the equation is the amount that supermarkets decide to mark up the foods they sell to shoppers. Since supermarkets are facing stiffer competition from big-box retailers and drug stores, they're being much more judicious about how much of their rising costs they pass on to customers.
• Nevertheless, the Agriculture Department said last week that it expects grocery prices to rise between 3 percent and 4 percent next year, which is slightly higher

than normal.
• Here's a look at how different foods will be impacted:
• MEAT & DAIRY
• In addition to paying more to feed their cows, farmers are dealing with grazing pastures that have been baked dry. The combination is resulting in farmers selling off the animals they can't afford to feed in recent weeks, particularly since cattle supplies are already limited and beef prices have been climbing steadily in recent years.
• Beef from those animals streaming into auction yards is expected to start showing up in grocery stores in November and December, temporarily driving down meat prices.
• "The irony is that we could start seeing some price reductions in the short run," says Bruce Jones, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Wisconsin.
• By early next year, however, prices are expected to spike as a result of the smaller livestock herds and dwindling meat supplies. Already, the number of cattle in the U.S. has been dropping for years and the USDA said this month that the nation's cattle inventory was the smallest since the agency began an annual count in 1973.
• Next year, the USDA says beef prices are expected to jump 4 percent to 5 percent, making it among the biggest price hikes for food. Dairy product prices are expected to climb 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent, poultry and egg prices up by 3 percent to 4 percent, and pork prices up by 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent.
• FRUITS & VEGETABLES
• So why isn't anyone talking about a shortage of fruits and vegetables in light of the drought? Unlike the corn that's grown to make animal feed and oil, produce sold in supermarkets is typically irrigated by farms and not as affected when there's a

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