Wisconsin July 4 Cookout Cost Hits Record $75.50 as Beef Prices Jump 23%
Updated
Updated · WPR · Jul 3
Wisconsin July 4 Cookout Cost Hits Record $75.50 as Beef Prices Jump 23%
2 articles · Updated · WPR · Jul 3
Summary
$75.50 is now the average cost to feed 10 people at a Wisconsin Independence Day cookout, up 7.5% from 2025 and the highest since the Farm Bureau survey began in 2013.
The increase reflects higher fuel, fertilizer, processing and transport costs, with the report also tying pressure to 2025 Trump tariffs and the ongoing war in Iran; Wisconsin's total was $1.68 above the national average.
$14.60 for two pounds of ground beef was the biggest driver, up more than 23% as drought-shrunken U.S. cattle herds met strong summer demand.
Other items also climbed sharply: pork and beans rose 27% amid higher aluminum can costs, and strawberries gained nearly 26% after a February freeze caused more than $300 million in Florida crop damage.
One exception was potato salad, down 14% on oversupply, and farm groups said shoppers can blunt holiday costs by buying sale-priced proteins, freezing them or switching to cheaper cuts.