Canadian consumers are being told to prepare to pay more for their groceries.

Jerry Bouma with Toma and Bouma Management Consultants says drought conditions have wiped out many soybean and corn crops in five American states.

Bouma predicts the price of some items could rise by as much as 30 per cent with prices overall expected to rise by five to seven per cent.

The drought is also expected to hit livestock producers as well, depleting feed for their animals.

Bouma tells 660News, many ranchers will simply sell off their herds without looking to replace them once they’ve gone to market.

He says the initial sell-off could drive down meat prices, but eventually those prices will rise again when slaughter numbers start to fall.

The last time drought conditions were this bad south of the border was back in the early 80′s.