The USDA tracks what is called "farm value" of our food supply. That's the share the farmer gets paid out of our total "retail" food dollar.

For 2008, that share stands at 19 cents out of every consumer food dollar. That's down from about 40 cents in 1950!

What can 50 cents buy you?

Fifty cents usually won't even buy you a cup of coffee these days, but for almost 500 lucky people at the Delaware State Fair, fifty cents bought a whole lot more.

A coalition of Delaware farm groups offered a 50-cent lunch platter to demonstrate the gap between farm value and retail food prices. The Delaware Soybean Board, Delaware Department of Agriculture, Delmarva Poultry Industry (DPI), Delaware Pork Producers Association, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit and Delaware State Grange wanted fairgoers to understand that rising food costs shouldnxt be blamed on farmers.

On average, farmers receive only about 19 cents out of every consumer dollar spent on food, according to the USDA. The rest of that dollar pays for processing, distribution, advertising, and other costs.

"The rising cost of energy, and its impact on businesses which process, ship and store our food is having a profound impact on food prices," says Matt Webber, chairman of the Delaware Soybean Board, which organized the promotion. "In addition, rising labor costs, which also affect every part of the food value chain, are making our food more expensive."

The Grange's fair lunch platters contain a healthy portion of ham or chicken; about a cup of potato salad; an ear of sweet corn; roll; butter and three slices of tomato.

The farm value of that platter? About 50 cents.

The retail price? Almost nine dollars.

"The farmer's share of the retail food dollar has been on the decline every year since about 1950," says Michael Scuse, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Agriculture. "Commodity prices have risen lately, due to increasing global populations, the weak dollar, speculative trading and droughts in many parts of the world. But overall, the impact of the raw commodity price is a very small part of the retail food cost."

That's because food that undergoes processing has that cost added on to its price. A one-pound loaf of bread retails at $3.19; the farmer receives about 18 cents for the wheat. From an 18-ounce box of cereal retailing for $4.95, the farmer earns 14 cents. A pound of boneless ham, retailing at $4.49, returns just 56 cents to the hog farmer.

"Food in the U.S. is still a bargain," says Bill Satterfield, executive director of DPI. "U.S. consumers spend about 10 percent of their income on food, which is less than people in any other country. We also enjoy the safest and most abundant food supply in the world."

In France and Italy, consumers spend 14.9 percent of their disposable income on food - still a relative bargain compared to China (26.4 percent), Russia (28.5 percent) and Indonesia (55.1 percent).

For the Grange lunch platters, the Delaware Soybean Board used USDA and industry figures to calculate the farm cost of the ingredients. The ham slices came to 14 cents. A quarter of a chicken was about 10 cents. The potato salad came to three cents. An ear of corn and three slices of tomato came to 22.5 cents. The roll pays a farmer about 2.25 cents, and the butter to go on it, about 2 cents. For simplicityxs sake, and to account for condiments, pickle chips, spices and ingredients other than potatoes in the potato salad, the board rounded the cost of the platter to 50 cents.

Fairgoers who visited the soybean boardxs booth in the Ag Building competed on agricultural trivia questions to win a ticket for a 50-cent lunch platter at the Grange food booth. The promotion ran July 21-26, 2008.

Why is the cost of food rising if farmers are getting paid so little?

There are a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the rising cost of energy. It takes energy to process, distribute and store our food after it leaves the farm!

Although farmers don't set the price of their products in most cases - the commodity markets do - when you get further "upstream," processors, distributors and retailers can, and do, have to charge more to cover their costs.

Other reasons why the cost of food is rising include increased costs associated with recent hikes to the minimum wage, speculator trading, a weak dollar, and smaller harvests in some parts of the world due to drought.

Surprising, but true ...

These prices are based on June 2008 USDA figures and store-brand prices.

A pound of bacon ...

Retail cost - $3.29

Farmer got paid - 56 cents

One dozen eggs

Retail cost - $2.19

Farmer got paid - 79 cents

Six-pack of Beer

Retail cost - $5.05

Farmer got paid - 12 cents

Top Sirloin Steak

Retail cost - $6.99/pound

Farmer got paid - 91 cents/pound

18-oz. box of cereal

Retail cost - $4.95

Farmer got paid - 14 cents

On average, U.S. consumers spend just 10 percent of their disposable income on food. We're lucky - other nations spend much more! Families in China spend 26.4 percent of their income on food. In Russia, that figure is 28.5 percent - and in Indonesia, that figure is 55.1 percent!

We don't usually eat soybeans the same way we eat sweet corn, for example. Soybeans are usually part of your meals in one way or another, though!

Soybean oil is used for frying and baking, and because it has a very light flavor, is often used in salad dressings. Soy flour helps baked goods stay fresh and moist. And soy lecithin is a widely-used emulsifier. Check the back of a Hershey chocolate bar and you'll see!

Soybeans are also on the plate if you're enjoying chicken, beef or pork. Animal agriculture consumes 98 percent of the domestic soybean meal - creating great meals for you and your family.

The farmer's share of the food dollar depends on the food. Only about two percent of the price of potato chips and cereal goes to farmers. By contrast, 45 percent of the sale price of milk, which requires less processing, goes to farmers.

Our thanks to the Delaware Soybean Board, Delaware Department of Agriculture, Delmarva Poultry Industry, Delaware Pork Producers Association, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit and Delaware State Grange for the 2008 Delaware State Fair promotion which helped people learn about "The REAL cost of food!"