MINNEAPOLIS—If Kevin Garnett's picture suddenly disappeared from the Wheaties box, most grocery shoppers would notice the absence of the former Timberwolves star. But if the amount of cereal within that box shrank by an ounce or two, few people would even realize it.

It's no wonder the Minneapolis-based General Mills chose the latter when the company trimmed overhead in 2007 to boost profits.

And when the company decided to charge more for the smaller box, few shoppers at the local Cub Foods grocery store even batted an eye at the $3.19 price tag because of brand loyalty.

When asked about paying more for less, General Mills-which also makes Cheerios and Total-uses a common excuse: higher input costs left them no choice.

This argument was logical in 2007 and part of 2008 when oil and ingredient costs were peaking. But why have high cereal prices stuck around when crop costs are plummeting and oil prices have fallen nearly $100 a barrel?

Let's look inside that 10.9-ounce box of Wheaties for some answers.

The main ingredient in the cereal is what else, wheat. And it's very likely that some of that wheat was produced on nearby wheat farm like the one run by Scott Swenson in Elbow Lake, Minn.

Swenson plants about 480 acres of wheat on his farm. In the last year, the price he gets for wheat has dropped from about $12 a bushel to about $6 a bushel.

"It's pretty tough out here right now," Swenson explained. "We're making a lot less than we were a year ago-barely breaking even today-and yet we're still under attack from huge companies looking for a scapegoat. Families struggling to afford higher grocery bills are still hearing it's our fault, but my family is in the same financial pickle they're in."

Sugar is another major ingredient, and some of General Mills' chief sugar suppliers hail from the Red River Valley-the biggest sugarbeet-producing region in the country.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sugar prices didn't experience price spikes like some other commodities but have still fallen 10 percent since Sept. In fact, General Mills is paying less for sugar today than in 1980.

There's only 3 cents worth of sugar in a box of Wheaties, certainly not enough to justify higher grocery bills.

So will cereal prices fall to reflect lower ingredient costs? General Mills CEO Ken Powell, says consumers could be waiting awhile.

"We expect to hold these [price increases] as we go forward," Powell told reporters in February, noting that General Mills products have seen price hikes of eight to 10 percent in recent years.

General Mills isn't alone. In June 2008, Kellogg Company announced smaller box sizes for Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, Froot Loops, and Honey Smacks. And, the makers of mayonnaise and peanut butter are altering jar shapes to reduce product weight and boost profits.

Enraged shoppers can take solace in the fact that Supervalu Inc., the parent company of the local Cub Foods stores, is just as upset. In a recent LA Times article, the company's CEO, Jeff Noodle, said they are in a battle with food manufacturers right now for price reductions.

Stay tuned; this is shaping up to battle between heavyweights that would make any Wheaties sports star proud.