The gradual and consistent increasing price of corn seed or "popcorn" is trickling down and into your home theater! Yep, the cost of the beloved popcorn is, and has been for some time, on the rise!

With the ever increasing demand for non-petroleum based fuels, the production of ethanol, a corn based oil/fuel product, is increasing. What does this have to do with the price of Popcorn!?!

Well, with demand comes price! Corn farmers are realizing that their acres of "popcorn" can return more revenue with the planting of "corn" used for ethanol production rather than for use in popcorn poppers. Farmers are replanting their fields with more profitable crop that can be converted into ethanol and other alternative fuels. With less "supply" of popcorn, and, the continued demand, the price of popcorn goes up. “The consumer will probably see an increase in popcorn prices pretty soon,” said an executive of Iowa’s Jolly Time popcorn brand.

Farmers are charging nearly double for popcorn over just over 2 years ago. Costs for popcorn is starting to climb and is trickling down now finally to the consumer. Wholesales, distributors and online merchant prices are starting to rise at a steady pace.

About a quarter of a million acres in America are planted with popcorn, while nearly 80 million acres are planted with plain corn. Of that 80 million acres, only 2 percent was used for ethanol in 2006. Now, estimates are around 20%, so less can be made with the popcorn crop. And, other alternative fuel source crops such as soybeans, coconut, palm, etc are seeing entry into the fuel oil production market, increasing the price for the oils used to cook up our popcorn as well!

But, popcorn producers have recently been developing new hybrids that expand more when popped. This is a term called expansion ration and you may see it on some websites or popcorn buying guides. Regular  popcorn kernels expand about 35% in volume when cooked or popped. Some new popcorn types have greatly exceeded that expansion ratio and some can even reach nearly 50% expansion!

What can a popcorn lover do? Well, look for popcorn with the highest expansion ratio, such as Monster, or MaxiPop and such branding, stock up on coconut oil now or look for popcorn cooked in less popular oils such as sunflower or safflower. I know that I'm going to be a little more discerning in my online popcorn shopping.