Feeling the ever-inflating corn prices are meat and milk producers, not consumers, said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns yesterday.
 
Corn prices have made it more expensive to feed cows, chickens, and pigs. Demand for ethanol has pushed the price of corn above $3 a bushel, the highest level in more than a decade.
 
That is bound to have an impact on farms and ranches, Johanns said.  “My best projection is that for a couple of years here, you are going to have a tug-and-pull between various industries.”

 Because so many factors go into making food, consumers probably will not see a direct impact, he said. “I just would hesitate to pick any item at any one time and say to the consumer, `It’s the fault of this item that you’re going to be paying a higher price.  There’s (sic) just too many factors that can impact the price, both up and down.”
 
Chicken companies are hoping to pass at least some of the high feed costs onto shoppers, despite resistance from supermarkets and fast-food chains, said Richard Lobb, spokesman for the National Chicken Council.  “It’s very competitive; we don’t have the kind of captive market that some interests do.  We have to compete with pork and beef, for example. If they’re not going up, it’s hard to raise chicken prices.”
 
Lower chicken prices, disruptions in the global market from bird flu and higher fuel and feed costs made for a tough year in the chicken industry.  “The best thing I can say about fiscal 2006 is, it’s over,“ Tyson Foods Inc. chief executive Richard L. Bond said in a news release.  After posting a $117 million profit one year ago, the company reported losses of $235 million. 
 
Next year, people are expected to buy slightly more beef and pork and slightly less chicken, according to department estimates. 
 
Johanns said another important factor is an effort to develop crops besides corn, such as switchgrass, that can be converted to ethanol.  “The marketplace does adjust.  Sometimes, it does take time.”