Shelling it out for eggs
If you don’t see a lot of Easter eggs this weekend, it could be due to the latest prices. Prices have gone down since January, but eggs are still not selling for chicken feed.
In the past year, egg prices have shot up more than 70%, according to the latest consumer price index. The United States Department of Agriculture predicts that egg prices will increase 27.3% in 2023.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Californians paid $5.62 for a dozen eggs in early February, compared to $3.05 for non-cage-free eggs in the Midwest. California and Hawaii generally have the highest consumer prices for eggs, while California is one of the nation’s leading egg producers.
Here are several reasons why:
Avian flu
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is believed that more than 58 million chickens in commercial farms but also backyard coops, have been infected by avian flu since January 2022.
The cost of fighting avian flu
Chicken farmers are spending more money to protect their flocks, adding to the egg prices.
Inflation and supply chain
Fuel, packaging and labor costs all have gone up considerably the last few years, The price of corn went up to its highest price point in nine years in 2022. Wheat prices also have increased as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a global wheat producer.
Cage-free trend
The push for cage-free chickens has been around for decades, but it has gathered a lot of momentum in California.California has a law banning egg sales in the state produced by hens that are not cage free, regardless of where they are produced. It is raising production costs.
At least nine states passed laws requiring all egg-laying hens to be housed in cage-free environments by 2024 and 2026. California’s 2018 ban took effect last year. Only eggs from cage-free hens can be sold in California, no matter where they are produced.
Will prices decline?
Recently, wholesale egg prices plunged 52% from Dec. 19 to Feb. 6, according to Urner Barry, a market research firm that focuses on the wholesale industry. But several states have cage-free goals to go into effect by 2025 and this is expected to continually drive up the cost.
The five largest shell egg-producing states are home to approximately 44% of all laying hens in the U.S. and the top 10 states comprise 63% of egg production. Most are in the Midwest due to cheaper feed costs.
Here are the top 10 states with the most laying hens in 2022:
- Iowa
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Georgia
- Arkansas
- North Carolina
- Michigan
- California
Chicken out
Just about every county and municipality in California has different regulations for backyard chickens regarding the number, size of their coop and manure disposal.
Good sources for information are local animal control agencies and backyardchickens.com.
On average
According to the United Egg Producers, a laying hen produced 296 eggs per year on average in 2020. That’s up from 264 eggs per year in 2000. The increased productivity of hens is due to improved health and disease prevention, nutrition, genetics and flock management.
USDA grading is voluntary for egg farms and those that choose to have the inspections pay for the service. Egg companies that do not use the USDA’s grading service are monitored by state agencies.
Yokes on me
Egg yolk color is determined by the type of feed a hen eats. A wheat-based diet will produce a pale yellow yolk, while a corn or alfalfa-based diet yields a darker yellow yolk. The color of a yolk does not indicate egg quality, freshness, or nutritional value.
Brown eggs come from hens with brown feathers and brown earlobes, and white eggs come from hens with white feathers and white earlobes. The nutritional composition of those eggs is the same.
How people like their eggs cooked by state based on an eatthis.com survey of data on Yelp. Yelp scanned all the types of egg dishes that were mentioned in its reviews in all 50 states. It looked for the egg type that was most disproportionately popular among Yelp users in each state compared to the U.S. overall. Analysts focused on a few keywords for eggs: egg sandwich, fried egg, huevos rancheros, omelet, frittata, scrambled eggs.
Sources: USDA, UC Davis, Backyardchickens.com, American Egg Board, Humane Society, Poultry World, United Egg Producers, eatthis.com, U.S. News and World Report
Source: www.mercurynews.com