I was watching the Weather Channel this morning and they were showing a story about the sever weather of 2011.  One of the big problems is how hard it hit the farmers. Crops were destroyed, live stock was sold early and a huge number of them were killed off.  So not wanting to look at the Weather Channel any longer I turned to the BBC America. They had a story about the war looming withIran. If we do go to war with them, oil prices rise, and the cost of transportation of goods will increase.   What does this mean for you and I? Get ready for more high food prices–- the USDA is projecting that we are looking at  an overall spike of 2.5% to 3.5%.

High commodity and energy prices along with soaring demand for food pushed up the value of items including ice cream, lettuce and bread.

Grocery store shoppers this year have watched prices rise as much as 4.75% while diners in restaurants saw menu prices go up as much as 2.5%.

As of last month, beef prices were up 9.8% compared with the same month last year. Pork prices were up 6.9% and poultry was 3% higher. With fewer fertile hens around, egg prices were 10.2% higher; dairy was up 8.7%.

The Japanese tsunami and earthquake in the spring pushed seafood prices up 5.9%. Fruits and vegetables also saw a bump, with apple prices up 9.6% year over year and potatoes up 12%.

Whole food prices could reach their strongest annual gains in more than three decades,NationalRestaurantAssn.economist Bruce Grindy wrote earlier this year. What comes next will depend on weather conditions, fuel prices and the value of the dollar, the USDA said.

Buy food now, learn how to can so you have food to hedge the price spike! Good luck.