Want to know who's really making the money off of rising food prices? Sometimes a picture says it all. Every time commodity prices are on the rise, we start hearing from the major food manufacturers that they are forced to raise their prices because of what is happening on the farm. This was especially true in 2008, when political opponents of ethanol were chiming in to try to convince the public that biofuels were to blame for higher grocery prices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture surprised quite a few people when they forecasted price increases at grocery checkout lines again this year (Link to Hand article). After all, the prices of corn and wheat-two staples food manufacturers like to blame for food hikes-have plummeted since their highs in 2007 and 2008.

And according to data compiled by Farm Policy Facts using the Consumer Price Index, the spread between high grocery bills and the prices farmers receive have been wide for more than a decade, and after a temporary blip in crop prices in 2007-2008, it's widening again. Here's just a few examples of what that's meant in rural America (courtesy of the National Farmers Union):

Food Item	December 2007	December 2009
Bread (Wonder, 1 lb. loaf)	Retail Price: $2.69 Farmer's Share: $.0.17	Retail Price: $2.99 Farmer's Share: $0.10
Flour (Multi-purpose, 5 lbs.)	Retail Price: $2.49 Farmer's Share: $0.83	Retail Price: $2.49 Farmer's Share: $0.50

Seems farmers didn't have much to do with the food price spikes in recent years after all. Maybe someone should ask the food manufacturers when they'll pass some of their savings along to the rest of us.

Actually, Growth Energy did just that, and they're still waiting.