WASHINGTON - Extreme weather in the spring will probably adversely effect harvest yields this fall and kick food prices higher, NPR reports. A new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that the severe rainstorms, droughts, floods, tornadoes and high heat impacted spring planting and is now hurting the growing season.

Mother Nature threw "everything" at farmers in April and May, said Gerald Bange, an economist with the USDA. "Excessive rains led to planting delays, and then some of what was already planted actually got flooded."

The weather caused the agency to lower its June prediction of planted acres of corn by 1.5 million, a drop in about 305 million bushels from its May forecast. While the harvest should be a good one, it still won??t meet the high demand.

"We are seeing very, very strong demand for corn for bio-energy, livestock feed input and export," said Bange.

With corn prices climbing, economists are forecasting higher meat prices (7 percent jump) and common foodstuffs costs (an average of 8 percent hike). Food manufacturers have increased prices because of the advance in raw ingredients like coffee, oats and corn. Restaurants, too, have jacked menu prices to keep up with the food costs.

Across the world, demand for food has soared and food inventories are not where they should be to meet that demand. Next week, agriculture ministers from G-20 countries will meet to launch the "Agriculture Market Information System," which is designed to make nations more accurately report on agriculture issues.