Jeff Hajny

    The next time you buy a donut or turn-over, don't be surprised to see that they have become a little more expensive.
     Due to poor weather conditions in many wheat-producing countries, the world stockpiles of grains and flour are at a 60-year low.
     The price of wheat has increased greatly over the past year. Local businesses have been impacted by the rise in price.
     "We've seen increases in the cost for everything," Seward Bakery Co-owner Dick Bennett said. "We have to pay for utilities, diesel fuel and gas. Everything we pay for, we get on a truck. The price of milk and eggs have risen for us. Our price of flour has doubled since December."
     The prices are not showing any signs of receding either.
     "We haven't been given any quotes on changes in prices over time, but it's been creating a lot more paper work for us," Bennett said. "Every week you have to calculate everything because it's continuing to go up."
     "We're not the only place that is facing high flour prices," Co-owner Lucy Bennett said. "I don't know if there is such thing as cheap flour in stores which aren't part of a bigger chain."
     The Bennetts said the increase in prices has not had an impact on the amount of business they receive from the community as of yet.
     "We've been staying pretty steady," Lucy said. "It's been a day-by-day thing. We have been in business since 1964 and are thankful for the customers we've had. Seward's been really good to us."
     "It's a hard to say anything about the future because prices tend to go crazy at times," Dick said. "For a little while, we will just have to keep an eye on what we order."
     Baked goods aren't the only food items rising in price.
     A spike of nearly 80 percent of grocery prices is expected to occur as well, due to wheat and other grains being used to feed beef, poultry and dairy cows.
     Wheat prices are being pushed higher because of poor wheat harvests in Australia, parts of Europe and the U.S.
     Along with this the American crop is shrinking because of federal incentives to grow corn for ethanol. Rising gas prices are making it more expensive to deliver the wheat to market.
     Wheat has historically sold for $3 to $7 a bushel. It has climbed as high as $24 a bushel in recent months.
     For each dollar increase in the price per bushel, consumers pay an additional penny on wheat products.
     According to federal data, the cost of white bread has risen to $1.32 per pound in recent months from $1.03 at this time in 2006.