Although the floods will undoubtedly cut into the overall yield of the crop, the drop in production is hardly the culprit for the rising price of groceries at the supermarket, as some recent reports have indicated.

Logan County, Illinois, is one of the epicenters of corn production in the United States.

Logan County agricultural John Fulton used the corn flake analogy to explain how little the cost of corn has to do with the cost of groceries.
For example, before the costs of food increased, a consumer may have been paying two cents for the amount of corn contained in that box.

“Now, you may be paying four cents,” Fulton said.

Most people know that a box of cereal costs far more than four cents.

Although the cost of corn in that box doubled, it had little to do with the box itself doubling in dollars.

A factor that is impacting the rising cost, as other reports indicated before the floods ever occurred, is the rising cost of crude oil, which has made the national average for gasoline above four dollars a gallon.

“And for diesel fuel, it's much higher than $4,” Fulton said. “When the price of fuel triples, that's what drives the price of groceries.”

Another factor to ponder, even with the corn flake theory, is that central Illinois corn won't be going into the box of cereal. One of the real ways to determine whether area corn is affecting the price of groceries, oddly, is to look at the price of meat.

The great majority of corn grown in this area is feed corn, which is mainly used for feeding cattle. It is also used in the production of ethanol.

“You have to look at the global picture. Occasionally, Logan County will have some corn go to a processing plant,” Fulton said. “But about everything we produce is not for human consumption.”

Fulton said white corn, which is not normally grown in this area, is the preferred corn used in most food products.

If the price of meat is not rapidly increasing, chances are, central Illinois corn is not affecting the price of groceries.

The increase in the cost of corn in this area has to do with input costs and little to do with flooding. Before the bad weather, input costs were already one of the biggest factors in the unusual high value of the crop. The cost of planting, growing and harvesting corn has become more costly to the area farmer.

In a previous interview, before planting season, Fulton discussed some of the increases in input costs.

“You used to be able to buy planters for $1,200 to $1,500 a row,” Fulton said. “Now, for 12 rows, you can't touch it for under $250,000.”

And items such as fertilizer, herbicide and seed prices are also soaring, something farmers took into consideration when deciding what and how much to plant.
And, on an even deeper surface, one could blame the weak American dollar for these increases.

“Because of the exchange rate, other countries are attracted to buy fertilizer here because of the weak dollar,” Fulton said. “Other areas of the world are trying to come up with agriculture production.”

According to Fulton, anhydrous ammonia is one of those products countries are competing for, so it likely will carry a higher price tag for American farmers.

The same can be said for diesel fuel. The weak value of the dollar will put diesel prices at a record high this summer, according to analysts.

Unfortunately for area farmers, when Fulton was interviewed about input costs, he was lamenting the price of diesel being $3.50.

“Diesel fuel has been a big one,” Fulton said. “At $3.50 a gallon, even not paying road-use tax, it's still expensive.”

(Farmers are exempt from the state's road-use tax because their fuel is burned going through fields rather than on state or federal roads.)

Seed corn costs have been around $62 a bag in recent years, but Fulton said farmers were paying around $100 a bag this spring. Just with the input costs, farmers easily spent an extra $10 to $15 per acre.

Fertilizer costs alone jumped 32 percent.

“If it wasn't pre-bought, they will be paying for it this year,” Fulton said. “Our neighbors in the east got 10.5 inches of rain, compared to (this area's) 4.5.”
Although the next few weeks will be critical in both determining and offsetting the damage that came from recent storms, late-planted corn crops have yielded well in the past.

“We're still a long way from harvest time,” Fulton said.

Then, you land on Bujumbura airport which is over armed by militaries well trained from everywhere hiding in the woods. You begin to laugh when you see them wearing green uniforms like a leaf has never been. You know Burundi the country of spring year around. It is not easy to get in Bujumbura Airport built by one of the super power which is Russia. There will be an entry point even the native have a hard time going in through.

So, if you are well introduced and an outstanding person you will just enter and someone will help you get your luggage. So, if you intend to go to Bujumbura be good where ever you are. Like one of my relative says ironically you cannot escape politics they will get you were ever you are. After receiving the luggage there is something I call double work which is to search your luggage. Afterwards, you go out, find a taxi, meet with those who are waiting for you or get your car which is in the parking area. So, now you drive a long way to the center of Bujumbura. The airport is in a vallee called imbo. It is in a region close to former Zaire the Democratic Republic of Congo and to Rwanda. There are cows which can cross the road. The important buildings in that area start with the Red Cross building which was finished in 1995. The industrial neighbourhood begins and at the end you find the Palace and hotel areas.

Now, you can decide if you want to stay in the capital city or go in the provinces which are sixteen in total but fifteen according to the last official one. In the northern provinces there is coffee especially in Ngozi and Kayanza, there is also coffee in Rural Bujumbura. There are two brands of coffee which are robusta and arabica. Arabica is the coffee which is the best in terms of quality. Coffee comes from Saudi Arabia which is in the Middle East. As a matter of fact one of the Kings of Saudi Arabia funded a Hospital in Bujumbura named after his name King Khaled. Coffee is used in medicine as a remedy, the most well known medicine is against cough. The famous coffee besides the one from Burundi is the Jamaican coffee it has been said that it is late Emperor Haile Selassie who started the coffee plantations there.

For those who like to eat avocados they can find them in the central part of Burundi, in the Province of Gitega. Avocados are green and they have a seed in them. Avocado buy its self can be a meal and a fruit. There are good times to plan to come to Burundi and it is usually during festive times like the first of July the Independence Day. During holiday times you can listen to the Burundi drummers who are very expressive of a culture of moderation, politness and joy.

Burundi is in the heart of Africa, and you can visit the second deepest lake of the World, Lake Tanganyika. The fish is delicious as well as the food. Beans and corn make a wonderful snack. Burundi was supposed to become a free economic zone and facilitate business from all over the world but the ethnic wars do not allow many things to be done at that level. Burundi is where agriculture is an issue because it is very productive. Agriculture is crops, cattle, and game. The ethnic groups are hutu, tutsi, twa and baganwa. Traditionnally, the Hutu are agriculturalists, the Tutsi are herdsmen, the Twa are hunters and the baganwa who are a mixture of hutu, tutsi and twa. The Baganwa used to rule Burundi until 1966 when it was a Kingdom. Burundi is a republic which has held two democratic elections in 1962 and in 1993.

The elected in 1962 and 1993 didn't stay long in power often because of the emphasize made of peasants who think that they have been betrayed by those who they gave the majority of votes. Finally, we should take into account the fact that agriculture is an issue. There are also grounds to think that Russia and Burundi have experienced the same troubles because of their lakes. Herdsmen or cattle owners are always in search of water and lakes are a good source of water.

So, a link between Russia and Burundi has to be done. The United States of America and Canada have great lakes and the first one has been the first super power of the world and a model of democracy and human rights. It is time to know what is the lesson of Burundi. On your way back from Burundi the pretty do not forget to visit the lakes where the birds fly during winter time. The lakes are Rwihinda and Cohoha. The birds are a gift which protect naturally the plants. Let us think about this title from the paleonteologist, Hans Mayer who opened a Museum in Leipzing, Germany "Die Barundi" the title of his book which means with my little german "The Burundi". Good luck with your thoughts.