July 4 cookout to be more expensive

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Food will cost more this Fourth of July holiday, according to a new survey from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau.

The group showed the cost of 12 food items to hold a summer cookout for 10 people would cost $75.50, the highest cost since the Marketbasket survey began in 2013 and 7.5% more than last summer. Nationally, that same cost estimate from the American Farm Bureau is $73.82, up 4% from last year.

The largest cost increase was from ground beef, which cost $7.30 per pound, is a 23.3% increase from 2025, which the group attributed to cattle supply and demand for beef.

U.S. consumers have high demand for beef with one-third ranking it as their top protein choice and 75% eating beef weekly, according to Beef Checkout.

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Each year, there are $422 million worth of ground beef sales during Fourth of July week and $337 million for Memorial Day.

Items such as fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream saw 25% increases over the year as well.

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