Expensive eggs
Skyrocketing egg prices have reached record levels in some places, causing many consumers to wonder why.The short answer is bird flu, which has wreaked havoc on the nation’s supply of egg-laying hens.
High egg prices have also led to chicken eggs becoming one of Idaho’s top agricultural commodities in terms of total farm-gate revenue.
From 2016 to 2021 in Idaho, the chicken egg category brought in between $30-50 million per year in farm-gate receipts. Farm-gate receipts are what the farmer or rancher receives for their commodity.
That made eggs a “medium” ag commodity in Idaho those years in terms of total farm-gate revenue.
When egg prices first shot up in 2022, Idaho recorded $125 million in farm-gate egg receipts and in 2023, that total was $120 million.
USDA will release the official numbers for 2024 later this summer, but University of Idaho economists are estimating the number could be about $160 million.
That means eggs could rank in the top 10 among Idaho ag commodities in terms of total farm-gate revenue, and possibly as high as No. 8.
Eggs are currently selling at near-record levels across the U.S., leaving many consumers wondering what has caused them to spike.
“It’s definitely the bird flu for sure … and it’s across the country,” said Maria McIntyre, marketing manager for McIntyre Pastures in Caldwell, which sells about 5,000 dozen eggs a month directly to consumers through home delivery and an on-site retail store.
Fires at major egg-producing facilities in several states haven’t helped.
According to USDA’s weekly Egg Markets Overview on Jan. 3, “In 2024, a combination of highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks and facility fires resulted in the loss of 39.9 million commercial table egg layers in 12 states….”
It appears high egg prices are a result of the usual suspect: tight supply and high demand.
According to USDA, 43 percent of the losses of egg-layers in 2024 happened the last two months of the year, right when shell egg demand peaks, “resulting in record-high wholesale and retail prices.”
The USDA’s Jan. 10 Egg Markets Overview report had large egg shells selling at $8.97 per dozen in California.
Demand for eggs has remained high since the holidays.
“Demand for shell eggs eased slightly in the immediate post-holiday period but remained atypically strong in contrast to past year trends when demand retreated from holiday highs into early January,” the Jan. 10 report states.
McIntyre said McIntyre Pastures has not raised the price of their eggs, which has resulted in a large increase in customer demand.
“The demand is through the roof,” she said.
Kaylee Tuning, co-owner of Broken Felloe Farms in Cascade, which sells about 300 dozen eggs a month directly to consumers, said demand for her farms’ eggs shoots up when the price of eggs at grocery stores increases significantly.
“We do see a higher demand when prices go up in the store,” she said.
Her farm has also not raised prices.
McIntyre Pastures has not been hit by bird flu and is being proactive to try to ensure it is not in the future, McIntyre said. That includes paying extra attention to things like feed rations to try to boost immunity and ensure their birds are as healthy as possible.
Just like a human, “The healthier the bird is, hopefully the less likely something would hit it,” she said. “We’re trying to be as cautious as we can.”
Broken Felloe Farms has also escaped bird flu, and it also takes steps to try to keep it that way.
“We hope we never get hit,” Tuning says. “We don’t lose sleep over it, but it is something we consider a lot.”
According to a Nov. 15 Market Intel report by American Farm Bureau Federation, “With more than 100 million birds affected … the current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been giving farmers and consumers headaches for nearly three years.”
It adds: “It is likely that egg prices will continue to show volatility related to the impacts of HPAI.”