High feed prices are the new normal, according to Thomas Elam of FarmEcon. Speaking at the 2013 International Production and Processing Expo, Elam said that prices for corn feed are unlikely to drop below $5 and soybean unlikely to drop below $300. Elam explained that consumer demand had been the major price driver for meat and poultry producers from 1950-2005. Since that time, feed cost has become the major determiner of prices and consumer demand has slowed. Combine that with last year’s drought and the ethanol crunch and feed prices are likely to remain high for the foreseeable future.