Farmers have always known that they're on the short end of the food dollar. In fact, cultivators of the land only see about 19 cents out of every dollar Americans spend to buy the food they grow.

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But a stat was thrown out during an August agricultural convention that even made the most grizzled farm veteran take notice.

Corn growers will only see about $175 out of an entire truckload of corn flakes-about 4,200 boxes worth-according to Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis.

"It costs more than $500 just to get the truckload of cereal to the store," he explained at the 26th International Sweetener Symposium in Park City, Utah.

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His selection of corn for the illustration was no mistake. Corn has taken the lion's share of the blame by critics who wanted to pin higher bills on farmers.

But America's growers and ethanol producers aren't the culprits, says Buis, who served as the president of the National Farmers Union before joining Growth Energy.

Crop prices have dropped like a rock in recent months, he explained, but food manufacturers are slow to pass any of those savings along to grocery shoppers, electing instead to boost their own profits.

"We're the scapegoats that were demonized in the press," he told the group, "and honestly, we're owed an apology by big food companies and Big Oil."

Of course, this phenomenon isn't isolated to corn.

Luther Markwart of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association spoke right after Buis on the panel and noted that sugar farmers are in the same boat.

"The American Sugar Alliance released a study this week that showed the huge divide between the price grocery stores charge for sugar, and the price they pay sugar companies to deliver the sugar right to their front doors," he said at the convention. "They're charging almost double for literally stocking the sugar on the shelf."

The Sugar Price Survey Markwart referenced also showed that the same is true for processed foods. One popular 99-cent chocolate bar only has a penny's worth of sugar in it, according to the study.

The Hand That Feeds U.S. has also chronicled this occurrence in other crops, including wheat getting the shaft in a box of Wheaties.

To help better spotlight the farmer's shrinking share of the food dollar, the group has worked in conjunction with the National Farmers Union to add a new section to its website that will display what a farm sees from common grocery items.

For example: 10 cents for a loaf of bread, nine cents for potato chips, and six cents for a two liter bottle of soda.