By Julie Tomascik
Grocery prices remain high, but that doesn’t mean farmers and ranchers are making more money.
A new American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) analysis shows that prices consumers pay at grocery stores often move in the opposite direction of prices farmers receive for their crops and livestock.
In August 2026, the national average retail price of ground beef was 7.4% higher than a year earlier, while prices paid to cattle producers fell 10%.
Similar trends occurred with other agricultural products.
Farm prices for fresh vegetables declined 7.3% compared to August 2025, but retail prices increased 3.2%. Dairy farmers received 3.5% less for their milk, while grocery store dairy prices declined just 0.3%.
The differences reflect the many steps involved in getting food from the farm to the grocery store, according to AFBF Vice President of Communications Terri Moore.
“Although farmers are the first link in that chain, there are many other links: processing, packaging, transporting, marketing. And all of those take a piece of the pie when it comes to the food dollar,” Moore said.
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