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Fourth of July cookout costs rise nationally, despite some lower regional food prices

U.S. consumers are expected to spend more this year on their 4^th of July celebrations.

Indiana Farm Bureau chief economist Todd Davis says about 50 percent of the total cost of a cookout will go to protein, but prices in the Midwest are significantly lower than the national average.

“With retail prices for chicken breasts, the index is actually down one percent,” he says. “Folks are shopping around and they shop with an intention to find lower prices.”

The annual survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation found consumers will pay an average of $73.82 for a 10-person barbecue, a 4 percent increase from last year. Indiana Farm Bureau’s annual summer cookout survey says hosting a 10-person barbecue will cost an average of $66.73.

Davis tells Brownfield the average cost of a barbecue in Indiana is down 7 percent from last year.

“That primarily was driven by both the ground beef and the pork chops, which were a little bit lower than last year,” he says. “That really drove the total cost of the meal down.”

Davis says less than 12 cents of the retail food dollar goes back to farmers.

“You have a lot of energy, you have a lot of labor, you just have a lot costs of transforming the product from what it looked like when it left the farm to what it looks like when it’s in the supermarket,” he says.

The total market basket in the survey includes ground beef, cheese, hamburger buns, pork chops, chicken breasts, pork and beans, potato salad, chips, strawberries, ice cream, cookies, and lemonade. Baked goods saw the largest cost increases from last year.

Indiana Farm Bureau’s annual survey was done in conjunction with the American Farm Bureau Federation.

AUDIO: Todd Davis, Indiana Farm Bureau