USDA Chief Economist Outlines Egg Price Concerns

The USDA’s chief economist says he’s concerned about the continued rise in egg prices. Seth Meyer’s comments were offered during the recent USDA Ag Outlook Forum.

Meyer says prices will remain elevated until the country gets a handle on the avian influenza crisis.

“We have experienced repeated HPAI events over the last 18 months which have really cut the size of that layer flock and not provided an opportunity to rebuild that flock.”

He says the number of layers in the U.S. is currently “very low.”

“We might like to be at something like 320 or 325 million layers. We’re at 291 million. We need an opportunity to get those egg prices down.”

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Mr. Meyers is right on target with his analysis. The major issue with higher egg prices is the lack of laying chickens. It’s all pretty simple – kill off over 100 million chickens due to the Bird Flu and they simply cannot be replaced rapidly. USDA estimates we have a shortage of between 29 and 34 million laying hens. With a more normal level of laying capacity, we have, of course, more normal egg prices. The government is going to allow more imported eggs and is putting over a billion dollars into the development and distribution of a H5N1 vaccine. All that should help get us back to a better place, but ultimately we need more chickens laying more eggs! Show your support for local poultry producers by offering them a service and parts special that could help attract them into your showroom.