KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Burgers, brats, and potato salad. Independence Day is inching closer and local shoppers are finding ways to save a buck.
"I can determine how much I want to spend when I come in here," said Marie London, a lifetime Bichelmeyer Meats buyer.
Since 1946, Bichelmeyer Meat Company has been prioritizing fresh and local meat products.
"Joe’s always our first stop," said Kristin Rieke, a shopper from Lake of the Ozarks. "The quality who we’re buying from is really important to us."
Rieke is getting ready for the Fourth of July holiday.
"We have family coming to the lake in the next ten days, so we're stocking up," she said.
There's minimal relief for those planning holiday celebrations, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
It'll cost American families $70.92 for 10 guests this year. That works out to $7.09 per person.
This price is an annual market basket survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The survey has been conducted since 2013.
The total cost for 10 guests is down 30 cents from last year, the second-highest cost since 2013.
“Inflation and lower availability of some food items continue to keep prices stubbornly high for America’s families,” said American Farm Bureau Federation Associate Economist Samantha Ayoub in a press release. “High prices don’t mean more money for farmers, however. Farmers are price takers, not price makers. Their share of the food retail dollar is just 15%. The cost of running their farm is up, from labor and transportation, to taxes.”
At Bichelmeyer Meat Company in Kansas City, Kansas, Co-Owner, Joe Bichelmeyer, works directly with local farmers to process quality meat products.
"It is a huge responsibility when your name is on the building and every cut of meat that walks out that door has your name and reputation on it," he told KSHB 41.
Bichelmeyer says he's seen an uptick in customers purchasing half and quarter sides of beef.
"The people that buy on a more day-to-day or weekly or monthly basis, we do see some of them change their buying habits a little bit, to more poultry or more pork versus beef," he said.
American Farm Bureau's market basket survey shows an increase in the cost of beef, potato salad, and canned pork and beans.
There are slight price decreases in pork chops, chips and hamburger buns.
Several factors contribute to the price increases, reflecting challenges faced in farm country.
KSHB 41 has previously reported on the livestock industry's recovery from drought in the last five years.
RELATED | Beef demand, prices reach near records highs while cattle industry struggles
Farmers were forced to send more animals to processing, which has impacted supply.
Farm Bureau reports tariffs on steel and aluminum have increased the price of canned goods.
Higher egg prices, used to make potato salad, are impacting other cookout staples. The higher prices also include the impact from bird flu.
Individual Prices, AFBF 2025 Summer Cookout
- 2 pounds of ground beef, $13.33 (+4.4%)
- 2 pounds of chicken breasts, $7.79 (-0.5%)
- 3 pounds of pork chops, $14.13 (-8.8%)
- 1 pound of cheese, $3.54 (-0.9%)
- 1 package of hamburger buns, $2.35 (-2.6%)
- 2 ½ pounds of homemade potato salad, $3.54 (+6.6%)
- 32 ounces of pork and beans, $2.69 (+8.2%)
- 16-ounce bag of potato chips, $4.80 (-2.1%)
- 13-ounce package of chocolate chip cookies, $4.00 (+0.3%)
- ½ gallon of ice cream, $5.69 (+0.7%)
- 2 pints of strawberries, $4.69 (+1.7%)
- 2 ½ quarts of lemonade, $4.37 (+4.2%)
Bichelmeyer said while some of his customers strayed from beef, they've ultimately circled back to it.
"It's the taste and quality," he said.
If steak is the centerpiece of this year's Fourth of July BBQ, Bichelmeyer told KSHB 41, purchasing an entire primal cut can save a few bucks per serving.
"If you can reduce the thickness and just adjust your grilling time a little bit, you’ve reduced the cost per serving dramatically," Bichelmeyer explained. "We provide the ability to peel it, trim it, and slice it... saving a couple bucks a pound."
Local shopper Marie London will be attending a Fourth of July party this year and won't be focused on the cooking.
She says buying locally at Bichelmeyer's gives her independence when shopping, not forced to buy over-processed products.
"At the grocery store, I just have to get what they give me in a package," she said. "In the store I have to get the package and spend $15 versus here I can pay $7 and have better quality."
Shoppers and livestock producers have told KSHB 41 they're willing to pay more for quality. They also said knowing where their food comes from is important.
"For us, it's about who we're getting it from and who we're giving our dollar to," added Rieke. "It doesn’t really make sense for myself or my family to pay less for a piece of meat if it isn’t going to fuel us adequately."