Families celebrating the 4th of July holiday will continue to find stubbornly high prices at the grocery store. An Independence Day cookout will cost $71.22 for 10 guests this year, based on the 2024 American Farm Bureau Federation annual marketbasket survey.

The grocery bill is up 5% from 2023, and almost 30% from just five years ago. A $7.12 per-person cost represents a record high since AFBF began the survey in 2013. The cookout favorites include cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, homemade potato salad, strawberries and ice cream, among other products.

“Higher prices at the grocery store reflect a number of challenges facing America’s families. Lower availability of some cookout staples and inflation are hitting people in their wallets,” said AFBF Chief Economist Roger Cryan. “Farmers are also feeling the effects of high prices. They’re price takers, not price makers. Their share of the retail food dollar is just 15%, but they still pay elevated fuel, fertilizer and other supply prices.”

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



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NCBA’s Ethan Lane Sees USDA’s Packers and Stockyards Rule as an Attack on Producer Profitability

In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with the Vice President of Governmental Affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Ethan Lane about USDA’s proposed rule to clarify unfair practices in the livestock, meat, and poultry industries.

As NCBA reviews this new rule from USDA page by page, Lane said it appears that the rule seeks to define unfair practices under the Packers and Stockyards Act.

“When you read through the rule and the preamble, it is an incredibly vague rulemaking that essentially says anything that differentiates product for cattle producers based on price, on quality, on innovation is unfair and uncompetitive and could be open for challenge under this new rule,” Lane said. “Without question, this is an attack on producer profitability. This is intended to do away with the idea of producers being able to seek additional premiums on their cows and seek profit on their cattle based on changes they make to their production practices.”

Lane said the new rule aims to eliminate premiums and lock in uniform prices throughout the industry.

“We are still reading through the rule, but the way this is written, the broad approach that is taken here absolutely would bring, in our opinion, anything that looks like differentiating your product in the marketplace would be called into question under these rules,” Lane said.

Michael Kelsey Offers Legislative Session and June Primary Review- AND Previews the 72nd Annual Convention of the OCA

In our latest Ag Perspectives Podcast- It’s a wide-ranging conversation I had with the Executive Vice President of the OCA, Michael Kelsey...

The conversation starts by talking about the 2024 Oklahoma legislative session- offering a good time to review it all now that the dust has settled from all the crazy things that happened at the capitol in 2024. We discuss tax policy, the poultry bill, anti-animal ag groups at the capitol, the legacy efforts of two term limited leaders- both in the House and the Senate and more. Then, we moved on to the give and take between the Governor and the Legislature over a board position that needs to be filled for the A&M Regents and then got into the June primary election results- and how several state Senate races are going to change the dynamic of the State Senate in the next session in 2025. Michael also offered his thoughts on the U.S. House races here in 2024 and how they matter to Oklahoma agriculture and the cattle industry- and even reviewed what the Corporation Commission will look like in the new year, too.

Part two of the conversation was all about the 72nd annual meeting of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association that is coming up July 19 and 20 at the Embassy Suites in Norman. Michael got into the convention theme in depth- talking about why the concept of Legacy is so important to the cattle business at this time.

Yesterday, The National Association of Wheat Growers’ (NAWG) President Keeff Felty provided written testimony for the record for the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources during the “Hearing on the High Plains: Combating Drought with Innovation” field hearing in Burlington, CO.

“NAWG appreciates the opportunity to submit written testimony for the record expressing the concerns of wheat growers within the High Plains and Western regions. It is vital that we collectively come together to discuss innovation and methods to combat drought and maintain a strong and successful agriculture industry.”

Felty emphasized NAWG’s number one farm bill policy priority, protecting crop insurance. NAWG recommends strengthening crop insurance by increasing premium support for higher levels of crop insurance coverage and improving the Supplemental Coverage Option by increasing premium support and expanding coverage. 

The Value of Reputation with OSU’s Kellie Raper

On today’s Cow-Calf Corner, Kellie Curry Raper, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics writes about reputation when buying and selling cattle.

“Reputation cattle” is a term you’ll hear often when cattle prices are discussed. In a survey of Oklahoma cattle buyers, 64% said that seller reputation played a part in their last feeder calf purchasing decision (Boline 2016). What is “reputation” in the cattle market? How do you build it? And what is it worth?

What is it?

Reputation has several puzzle pieces that come together to create the whole picture. The biggest puzzle piece is how cattle perform for the buyer. If a buyer has a positive experience with a seller’s cattle, that buyer is more likely to raise a hand to bid the next time that seller’s cattle come through the ring and may be willing to pay a premium for those cattle. That seller is building a positive reputation with the buyer – and other buyers – for cattle performance. If the calves were a train wreck, trust that buyers have a very long memory. Cattle performance encompasses a lot of things, including gains, health, and handling ease to name a few – and different cattle buyers will value certain attributes more than others.

NCGA Joins Other Organizations in Filing Latest Lawsuit Challenging Administration’s Vehicle Mandates

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the Texas Corn Producers Association (TCPA), along with other groups, filed a lawsuit today in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard for model year 2027-2032 passenger cars and light-duty trucks.

The CAFE rule mandates stringent new standards that appear designed to phase out liquid fuel-powered vehicles. Today’s filing follows two recent lawsuits led by NCGA, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Petroleum Institute and auto dealerships challenging the EPA’s light-duty and heavy-duty vehicle rulemakings.

“Once again, we have a federal agency trying to force a one-size-fits-all solution on the American consumer through the final NHTSA CAFE rule and fuel efficiency standard, which favors electric vehicles,” said Minnesota farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Harold Wolle. “Because ethanol effectively lowers greenhouse gas emissions and combats climate change, it accounts for one-third of corn growers’ demand. We are concerned that NHTSA could be putting the country on the path to eliminating this demand, which would be a major financial blow to corn growers.”

Woodward Livestock Hosting BQA Event on Friday

 Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification is an easy and effective way to pursue continued education in the cattle business. Oklahoma ranchers can become BQA certified, or renew an expired certification, on Friday, June 28, at the Woodward Livestock Auction in Woodward, Okla.

As a nationally coordinated, state-implemented program, BQA offers up-to-date best management strategies with a commitment to quality through every segment of the beef industry.

Registration opens at 1:30 p.m. As guests arrive, they can participate in a meet-and-greet with Alan Bowman from Oklahoma State University (OSU) football. Sessions start with a brief introduction at 2:00 p.m. sharing the history of BQA. Rotations will include: Biosecurity, herd health, cow/calf and stock cattle nutrition, and a meat cutting demonstration.

Attendees will complete the BQA exam at 6:00 p.m. Complete the BQA exam to be entered for a chance to win registration to Feeding Quality Forum, including a one-night hotel stay in Dodge City, Kan., for the event. Other giveaways include a Yeti cooler filled with Certified Angus Beef ® steaks. The program concludes with a Certified Angus Beef ® brand dinner and a market update from Paul Dykstra from CAB.

To register for the event, visit CABcattle.com/RaisedWithRespect.

The event will be hosted by CAB and Sysco, along with Woodward Livestock Auction, Oklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and OSU Extension.