Celebrating the 4th of July with a cookout will cost significantly more than two years ago, although prices have fallen slightly from record highs in 2022. Families will pay $67.73 to host an Independence Day cookout with 10 family members or friends, based on the 2023 American Farm Bureau Federation marketbasket survey.

The $67.73 grocery bill is down 3% from 2022, but still approximately 14% higher than prices were just two years ago. Last year set a record high since AFBF began the survey in 2013, and 2023 comes in as the second-highest cost. The cookout favorites include cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, homemade potato salad, strawberries and ice cream, among other products.

“The slight downward direction in the cost of a cookout doesn’t counter the dramatic increases we’ve seen over the past few years. Families are still feeling the pinch of high inflation along with other factors keeping prices high,” said AFBF Chief Economist Roger Cryan. “Don’t assume farmers come out as winners from higher prices at the grocery store either. They’re price takers, not price makers, whose share of the retail food dollar is just 14%. Farmers have to pay for fuel, fertilizer and other expenses, which have all gone up in cost.”

The marketbasket survey shows a year-to-year increase in the cost of hamburger buns, beef and potato salad, while there are drops in the cost of chicken breasts, lemonade and cookies.



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Dr. David Lalman Talks Concerns with Cattle and the Weather

Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern Maci Carter had the chance to visit with Dr. David Lalman, an OSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist. Dr. Lalman and Carter discussed hardware disease with debris from the storm, other storm concerns, electricity battles within cattle production, and how to handle the heat as a producer this summer.

“Hardware disease is related to consuming or swallowing a sharp object,” Lalman said. “You can imagine, if there’s a piece of wire or a nail or something down in the bottom of that reticulum, and a strong muscular contraction comes along, what is going to happen. You can have a cut or even a puncture wound develop pretty rapidly, and obviously, that leads to some potentially serious health issues.”

With debris littering many producers’ fields after the storms this past weekend, Lalman said to watch out for hardware disease in your cattle. If sharp objects are consumed by the cattle, he added, serious health issues can follow.

“The main thing, I think, is for folks to try to remove the foreign material from their pastures or pens,” Lalman said. “If the livestock are being kept in the pen, you know, that’s the most practical thing they can do, if possible.”

Understanding how dangerous this debris is in your pasture is very important. Lalman emphasized removing the debris as quickly and best you can to prevent more damage or health issues.

Dietitians Experience Ranching, Learn Beef Nutrition

Nutrition Adventure aims to clear beef industry misconceptions, connect dietitians with producers and provide applicable science and skills to dietitians nationwide. This three-day Beef Checkoff-funded program, held May 23-25, is co-hosted by the Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri state beef councils. 

Dietitians spanning from California to New York to Florida to Nebraska came to Kansas City for programming centered on beef, food inclusivity and food styling. Attendees were diverse in their specialties, ranging from university dining services to social media influencers. 

Kansas Beef Council’s Abby Heidari, Nebraska Beef Council’s Mitch Rippe and Oklahoma Beef Council’s Sheri Glazier gave a presentation on “What is Cool about Beef?” on the first day. This presentation was a crash course on the cattle industry and beef. Topics covered included beef nutrition, the meaning of various labels on beef products and the different beef cuts available. The day concluded with a “Chopped”-style culinary competition, where participants made meals featuring skirt and flank steaks. 

Day two focused on connecting attendees with the beef industry directly. Participants started the day with a presentation about beef sustainability by Dr. Tryon Wickersham, a ruminant nutritionist and professor at Texas A&M University. Then, local beef producers from Leavenworth County joined the group for lunch before heading to Tailgate Ranch.

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with senior beef and cattle market research analyst at Rabo AgriFinance, Lance Zimmerman, about Rabo's 2023 barbecue index.

Rabo AgriFinance has developed a BBQ index, which is a read on the expense of enjoying barbecue this summer with family and friends.

“Sitting here in the heart of barbecue season, we are really in a place where if you look at the price of the basket of goods you typically have in a barbecue, they are up about 30-31 percent compared to where they would have been just a handful of years ago, pre-pandemic,” Zimmerman said.

With all of the different factors in the economy today, Zimmerman said those higher prices are not a complete shock, but it is jarring to see those increases.

Looking at how much it might cost to prepare for a ten-person barbecue, Zimmerman said the price is close to 100 dollars. The items included in this calculation, Zimmerman said, include products like ground beef, chicken breast, buns, cheese slices, tomatoes, and more.

“Compared to about 2018, that is almost 25 dollars higher than where it was then,” Zimmerman said.

**Editors note: the reason Rabo AgriFinance’s BBQ index has different results from AFBF’s survey is because cost of beer is included in Rabo’s calculations.

Historical Review of the U.S. Beef Cattle Industry – Part 1

Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner” published electronically by Dr. Peel, Mark Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Johnson talks about the history of the beef cattle industry.

As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, (hopefully with family, friends and delicious beef along with the fireworks), it seems appropriate to reflect on the history of the U.S. beef industry. The history is colorful, interesting and can be helpful in planning for future success.

How It Started:

Although many breeds of cattle are in the United States, none are native to this country. The first cattle were introduced by explorers and settlers from Spain and England centuries ago. For over 200 years the U.S. cattle population was Longhorn based. Open range, the ability of the descendants of Spanish Longhorn cattle to thrive in a feral environment and their meat value eventually created an industry. By the end of the civil war the longhorns had reproduced exponentially and millions of head roamed the open ranges of the U.S.

House Speaker Charles McCall Reacts to Audit Findings

Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, released the following statement after State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd released the Federal Single Audit of expenditures made during SFY 2021 which includes pandemic funds. This annual audit is a federally-mandated examination of how the State of Oklahoma spends federal grant money and whether the State complied with federal regulations. 

“After a cursory review of Auditor Byrd’s report, I find her conclusions to be extremely troubling for our state and the hardworking taxpayers of Oklahoma.

As elected officials, our first duty is to represent our constituents and be good stewards of their hard earned money. The findings in the report show a pattern of irresponsible spending and questionable decision making that was not in the best interest of the Oklahoma taxpayer.

The Legislature was excluded from the appropriation process for these funds. The decisions on how and where to spend them was made unilaterally by the Executive Branch, resulting in little oversight and the documented misuses of taxpayer money.

Issues like the ones raised in the audit report are why my House colleagues and I insisted on a tax credit approach for parental choice rather than ESAs or vouchers, which can lead to misuse of funds, corruption and little to no accountability. The use of a tax credit avoids public funds being co-mingled with private funds, and provides for increased accountability in the process. Oklahomans expect their government to spend tax dollars transparently, accountably and free from waste, fraud and abuse. It is clear that was not the case with the funds scrutinized in the audit. The Oklahoma House of Representatives will continue to monitor the investigation to see what legislative actions need to be taken to avoid situations like this in the future.”