The cage free drove up Massachusetts prices a lot this year, but oy!

Not long ago i could get 30 pack at Costco for under $6.

Dave

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Welcome to Dave's BBQ!

Many have eaten here....

Few have died

Yeah I saw the same but snagged a 2 for $6 deal on 2 dozen at SnS.

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Hurts like a bastid...

Sheesh. I dunno where you guys are shopping. Here in LA, I just picked up a 12-pack of cage free from Robert's (a local chain here that's known to be overpriced!) on sale for $2.79. Very beautiful brown eggs too, I may add.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Paying about $5 per dozen for pasture-raised.

A dozen basic Publix large eggs in west central Florida are $4.25. Just saw them today

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Hens are apparently on strike or something. Actually, you can blame some of it on the Russians and all you cage-free folks.

[www.marketwatch.com]

First Published: Aug. 12, 2022 at 12:13 p.m. ET
By
The average price of a dozen large, Grade A eggs was $2.94 in July, up from $1.64 for the same period last year

Why are eggs so expensive now?

Grocery prices continued to soar in July despite slower inflation overall, and eggs were among the foods experiencing the biggest increases. The average price of a dozen large, Grade A eggs was $2.94 in July, up 38% from the same period last year at $1.64, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The price of eggs has been trending upward since the beginning of 2022, and egg experts said an avian influenza outbreak that has severely limited the supply of eggs was the leading cause of high prices.

The avian flu outbreak started almost six months ago and has cut the egg-laying industry’s production capacity by about 10%, said J.T. Dean, the president of Versova Management and Center Fresh Group, a major egg producer that manages multiple farms across four states, including Ohio and Iowa.

The avian flu outbreak started almost six months ago and has cut the egg-laying industry’s production capacity by about 10%.

The outbreak has affected egg producers nationwide, and has even sickened birds that aren’t raised on farms for human consumption, Dean said.

On top of that, many producers, including Dean’s company, have seen “a tremendous increase” in their operational costs because of inflation. Everything from labor to supplies to construction has become more expensive, he said.

The industry has been also moving in the direction of cage-free production in the past few years, which has added a layer of complexity to producers’ activities, Dean said.

In addition, Dean said the feed for his company’s chickens has been getting more expensive, especially the organic feed that eventually yields organic eggs.

Cage-free production has also added a layer of complexity to producers’ activities, pushing up costs.

Most of the eggs in U.S. supermarkets come from domestic producers, but a majority of the organic feed is from abroad, and that means the price has been affected by global supply-chain disruptions due to the pandemic and geopolitical tensions, said Brian Earnest, lead protein industry analyst at rural economy credit provider CoBank. The disruptions made both the traditional feed sourced domestically and the organic one more expensive.

Although higher egg prices were mainly related to the tight supply of eggs caused by decreased flock size from the avian flu, other factors play a role too, such as the prices of feed-grade corn and soybeans reaching record highs.

The U.S. is a net importer of organic products, Earnest said. And when it comes to organic oilseeds and grains, Russia and Ukraine were the second and third largest exporters to the U.S. in 2020, according to a Mercaris trader report.

The prices of feed-grade corn and soybeans reached record highs, compounded by supply-chain issues with oilseeds and grains.

It will take time for the industry and the government to work together to address the influenza issue and grow the flock population back to normal to increase supply, Dean told MarketWatch. But the response from both producers and the government has been quicker this time than during a similar scenario back in 2015, when it took about a year for the industry to recover from an avian influenza outbreak.

This time, Dean said, producers are seeing recovery signs now at the six-month point. Many producers’ flocks are back at their full population now, he said.

It could be another six months or more before egg prices improve for consumers, Earnest said, because the wholesale price only started decreasing in the last two weeks. It will take time for retailers to reduce the shelf prices that consumers see. The avian flu outbreak means the overall egg supply remains tight, and “the damage has already been done,” he told MarketWatch in an email.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

....some women are now freezing their eggs....but can be expensive....

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

We just buy whatever Aldi or Food Lion has the cheapest. Food Lion $4.79/18. I paid less than $4 last week. Don't get me started on the price of butter.

What Are Cage-Free Eggs?
[www.thespruceeats.com]

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Grateful11

The high price eggs recently is mostly due to a nationwide avian flu outbreak.
[www.deseret.com]

Location ? Eggs in NE Ohio are $1.99 a doz at Aldi..

We're in MA. Paid $6.49/doz. last week at Stop and Shop. Switched back after a couple of bad eggs in the Land o' Lakes that were on special at 2 dozen for $6.

I pay about $5 for pasture raised eggs. The labeling for eggs is overly complex - you want the chickens to have access to the outdoors AND they need to eat bugs. Chickens will EAT EACH OTHER if they don't get enough protein.

Correct that, I pay about $2/dozen via some kids that raise chickens in 4H. I've gotten a couple of bad eggs (like 2 out of hundreds) but I don't mind. The chickens look well cared for. I think they have names. I wonder when the kids will raise their prices.

FWIW I can tell a taste difference compared to factory raised eggs. Or I think I can....its not all the time.

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Quote
cbelt3
Location ? Eggs in NE Ohio are $1.99 a doz at Aldi..

Western Mass. Apparently we voted for humane treatment of chickens last year. The Federal standard is 1 cubic foot for a chicken cage, while Mass upped that to 1.5 cubic feet. Can't sell your eggs in Mass unless you can certify your eggs are from chickens with the bigger cages. Instantly, the eggs supplier options were cut by less than half. McLane's, a ginormous supplier, still does not have eggs or hard boiled eggs in the snack pack that I can buy for my store. Luckily, my milk/dairy supplier does have legal eggs for me.
That drove prices up in all stores in state, inflation, and all the other issues added to that.

Dave

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Welcome to Dave's BBQ!

Many have eaten here....

Few have died