WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. -- The rising flood waters that took over parts of the Midwest have now created concerns of even bigger jumps in the price of food, especially grains like corn.

Channel 11 News talked to several farmers in western Pennsylvania who are feeling the pinch created by higher prices.

Fuel costs and other factors have contributed to a slowdown in the production of corn and an increase in the price.

Scott Simmons, of Washington County, grows and sells sweet corn. He was selling his sweet corn for $5.50 a dozen ears, but this year it's more than $6 a dozen.

Fuel costs and the cost of fertilizer are driving the cost of doing business higher for him, and he's been forced to pass the cost onto consumers.

Sam Minor owns Spring House Farm in Washington County, a dairy farm with 300 cows. He feeds them corn, and his costs have skyrocketed recently as well.

Minor says can't raise his prices because the federal government regulates the price of milk, the primary product of his dairy farm, so he's working to control other expenses.

Nationally, the price of corn is jumping due to a number of factors.

The most recent is the impact of the floodwaters in Iowa and Illinois.

Officials now say the floods threaten about 7,500 acres in Illinois alone.