Survey by Iowa Farm Bureau shows concern with food price increases

DES MOINES — The latest Iowa Farm Bureau Food and Farm Index survey is showing the concerns people have with increasing food prices.

The Farm Bureau’s Zach Bader says prices were listed at the top of the list of concerns for the first time in nine years of the survey for a couple of items. “Price is listed as the most important factor that’s driving both meat and dairy purchases by Iowans that’s above eight other factors that were tested,” he says.

Bader says 79% of those in the survey done with Harriss Polls, say they are concerned about the impact of government regulations on the prices. “Which is up from 62% in last year survey,” Bader says. “In fact, government regulation that increases food costs went from the sixth most concerning aspect of food production last year in 2021, to the most selected option.”

Bader says they didn’t ask for specifics on the regulation side. “We just left it as government regulation that increases food costs. So there’s, you know, regulations on the food chain all the way from the farm — all the way up to the manufacturing and whatnot,” he says.

Bader says the survey found among the Iowans who are the primary or have a shared responsibility for grocery grocery shopping responsibilities, 96% eat meat at least weekly, and 94% consume it dairy, at least weekly.