2025 Cookout Prices Similar to 2024
Our annual market basket survey reports that hosting a summer cookout for ten people will cost $70.92, just 30 cents less than last year’s record high—making the per-person price $7.09, the second-highest since 2013
Ground beef (2 lb): $13.33 (+4.4%)
Chicken breasts (2 lb): $7.79 (–0.5%)
Pork chops (3 lb): $14.13 (–8.8%)
Potato salad (2½ lb): $3.54 (+6.6%)
Pork & beans (32 oz): $2.69 (+8.2%)
Chips (16 oz): $4.80 (–2.1%)
Hamburger buns (pkg): $2.35 (–2.6%)
Driving Forces: Beef prices rise due to tighter cattle supply • Canned goods see higher costs from tariffs on steel and aluminum • Egg prices, a key ingredient in potato salad, remain elevated amid supply rebounds following avian flu
Meanwhile, commodities like pork chops, chips, and buns have become more affordable. Surplus pork has lowered pork chop prices, trending down nearly 9%, while decreased potato demand and stabilized wheat prices eased chip and bun costs. Despite the high numbers, U.S. consumers still spend a smaller fraction of their income on food than other countries.
Farmers, however, aren’t pocketing higher profits—rising farm input costs mean they receive only about 15% of the retail dollar. AFBF President Zippy Duvall emphasized the importance of a new, modernized five-year Farm Bill to help stabilize agriculture and support food independence.
Nevada Ag Wagon Gets a Fresh New Look with Mural Makeover
The Nevada Farm Bureau is excited to announce that the Nevada Ag Wagon is undergoing a creative transformation! This iconic trailer, known for traveling across the state to promote agricultural education and awareness, is getting a vibrant mural makeover to reflect the rich story of Nevada agriculture.
The new mural will showcase the diversity, strength, and heritage of Nevada’s farming and ranching communities. From wide-open rangelands and family farms to the crops, livestock, and hardworking people that make Nevada ag thrive, the updated design will bring the Ag Wagon to life like never before.
The project is more than just a fresh coat of paint—it’s a celebration of Nevada agriculture’s legacy and future. The Ag Wagon plays a vital role in connecting with students, families, and communities across the state through outreach events, fairs, and classroom visits. This new design will make an even bigger impact by turning the trailer into a moving work of art that sparks conversation and curiosity wherever it goes.
Stay tuned as we unveil the finished design in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to share the final result with all of you—and to keep rolling down the road with a new look that proudly represents Nevada agriculture!
Enhancing Opportunity For Small And Urban Food Producers
As a general farm organization Nevada Farm Bureau has a responsibility to represent (protect and promote) all sizes of farm/ranchers. Nevada Farm Bureau’s policy regarding small farm and urban food lead to these positions in the 83rd Session:
AB 352: This bill became law with the votes of unanimous “Yeas” in each house of the Legislature (there was one accepted non-vote in the Assembly). The bill was introduced and carried by Assembly Natha Anderson, who was chairman of the Assembly Natural Resources. If small or urban farms have any likelihood of being successful, they need to be able to increase the enhanced value that they can get on the market. AB 352 allows this to occur through the system of cottage food and “Food to Fork.” Farm Bureau’s support for passage was based on our policy which was adopted by our voting delegates. The bill also turned out to be the center of the circle recognizing in producing food from small and urban farms.
In regard to Nevada’s farm/ranch sector (3,122 farms and ranches) there are a total of 2,205 producers, as group, who produce and sell agricultural products less than $50,000. The law that will come from AB 352 will give an opportunity to increase for an expanded sustainability.
SB 104: Start them young! SB 104 was introduced and strongly by Senator Julie Pazine. She introduced a very similar version in the 2023 Legislature. That proposal for funding to establish and operate a system for school gardens wasn’t passed but still did get a significant amount of funding through the “Christmas Bill Package” that was approved.
SB 233: Nevada Farm Bureau policy promotes and supports Home Feeds Nevada. Because of the combination available funds at the state level and the federal government deciding to not continue to send the funds they were putting out through the Biden Administration timeframe, we’ll need to figure out a source and process for sustaining the program.
AB 171: This bill was the first was the session’s passed and signed into law. It was motivated by the high, growing price and availability of eggs. In the 2021 session the bill which became law made the requirement that only cage-free eggs could be purchased used in Nevada (except for eggs from chickens in Nevada that were there were 3,000 or less). This has turned out to be a monology which into a terrible marketing situation was created as the chicken flu hit and the areas which qualified were impacted.
AB 251: This bill revises the definition of “custom processing establishment” to: (1) remove the requirement that the facility be fixed; and (2) provide that a custom processing establishment is licensed in accordance with the regulations adopted by the Officer to perform custom processing or slaughter certain animals for human consumption on a commercial basis in intrastate commerce. It was a submitted and carried by Assemblymembers Gregory Koenig and Bert Gurr. It received an unanimous vote in each House and will take effect as a law July 1, 2026. Nevada Farm Bureau supported on the basis that this expansion of the state meat and inspection program will enhance the opportunity for small livestock operations – and livestock producers of all sizes – to be sustainable.
SB 466: The linchpin to this package of bills, introduced and promoted by Governor Joe Lombardo. The transfer of the authority, responsibility and funding is a great change. The Nevada Department of Agriculture will be certainly more understanding of the needs for small and urban farms than those connected who are “health agency” employees. The only two legislators who didn’t think the bill should become law were Assemblymember Jill Dickman and Heidi Kasama.
NFB’s support and encourage for passage was passed on policy and also the way in which the “health” folks carried out what they thought was the right thing to do – it made it difficult for small and urban farmers.
Wildfire Smoke Regulations Will Become Law: New Requirements Will Burden Rural Employers
The Nevada Legislature has passed Senate Bill 260, setting in motion the development of new wildfire smoke regulations by OSHA. Introduced and championed by Sen. Edgar Flores of Las Vegas, the bill approaches many of same matters, in similar fashion as the approach taken with the heat illness regulation passed in 2023 (SB 427) – both measures backed by the same group of supporters.
SB 260 requires OSHA to create specific mandates for employers to protect employees from wildfire smoke exposure, with enforcement triggered by certain air quality index (AQI) thresholds. This proposal passed the Legislature with votes of 15–6 in the Senate and 32–10 in the Assembly.
NFB opposed SB 260 based on concerns about the lack of accessible air quality data across much of rural Nevada. While employers in urban areas may have real-time air quality monitoring at their fingertips, the same cannot be said for large swaths of the state’s rural regions.
The law requires that employers meet specific obligations based on Air Quality Index levels, but if there are no monitoring equipment in a rural community, how will employers know whether they are meeting – or not – in meeting required to levels act? Holding farmers, ranchers, and other rural employers accountable for conditions they cannot verify or monitor is a major concern and one we believe must be addressed during the regulation’s development phase.
NFB will continue to advocate for practical, science-based policy that takes into account the realities of rural life and agriculture. We encourage all members to stay engaged as this regulatory process moves forward.
USDA Launches Relief for Livestock Producers Hit by Drought
Full report: https://www.fb.org/market-intel/emergency-livestock-relief-program-how-it-works