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Scarcities of milk and other dairy products could develop by August. Herrell DeGraff, president of the American Meat Institute, predicts that beef supplies could well grow leaner and costlier by early winter. Cattlemen are avoiding oppressive feed prices by letting their steers fatten on grass, a process that takes about 90 days longer than grain feeding.
Shoppers have to settle for a more limited selection in the supermarket.
Food processors are dropping some items because fruit and vegetable growers are demanding higher prices for their control-exempt goods, while the companies' prices for many products are often frozen at last summer's lower level. General Foods, for example, is turning away orders for some frozen-food lines, especially raspberries and strawberries. Some supermarkets are not stocking plums and tomatoes. Also, potatoes and fish sticks are already being priced off store shelves.
Administration officials bullishly predict that the food and feed prices will ease off by autumn because of 1) the export controls, and 2) an expected rise in this year's output of soybeans and other feed. Better late than never, the Administration this year freed up more land for planting. Only if the Government continues to expand domestic farm production will the nation be able to beat the high cost of eating—and help meet the needs of an increasingly hungry world.