The drought in the Midwestern  United States is having an impact on food prices around the nation, including Maryland. And that trend is expected to continue into 2013.

"The major impact the Midwest {drought} is having at this time  is that's it's driven prices up," says Buddy Hance, Maryland's Secretary of Agriculture. "For those producers that have corn, it's going to be a very good year for them. For those producers who have reduced yield, it  helps  compensate somewhat for that reduction in yield."

The US Department of Agriculture says consumers could pay 3 to 4% more for  food next year, as the nation endures the worst drought since the 1950's.

Secretary Hance points out that corn has a lot of uses beyond just canned corn or corn on the cob. He says it's also used for feed for livestock and poultry, which affects Maryland's dairy and chicken farms. "They're seeing tremendous increase in costs, and market prices for the commodities that they sell have not risen enough to compensate for that. So they're being put in a very significant squeeze right now."

As a result, Hance says many farmers have had to sell their livestock much earlier than they anticipated because they can't afford to maintain them. "The impact to the consumer right now is going to be minimal. But as the various livestock sectors reduce supplies, that's going drive up the cost of those various meat commodities to the consumer," he says.

The USDA says beef could rise as much as 5% in response to the supplies of corn available to feed livestock.

The weather doesn't look like it's going to change any time soon. "The weather forecast I heard for the Midwest said that this weather pattern won't change until the fall. So I don't see much relaxation on these prices anytime soon," Hance says.

He says consumers need to be aware, especially when they go to the supermarket to purchase food. "It is a weather-driven event. It's a matter of supply and demand," he says.