A new law in Michigan is driving up the cost of eggs, with some predicting the problem will likely get worse.
“Oh, we’re really hearing a lot about it and it needs to be fixed,” state Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, told The Alpena News. “This just doesn’t make any sense.”
A law approved in 2019 to mandate all eggs sold in Michigan come from cage-free environments took effect on Jan. 1, impacting all producers with more than 3,000 egg-laying hens.
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In Alpena, the change has more than doubled the price of a dozen eggs, going from what was less than $2 to $4.99 at Save-a-Lot and $5.42 at Walmart on Monday.
In other places like The Grocery Outlet Store in Allegan, there are no eggs at all.
“I think yesterday, my manager texted me and she said, we are officially out of eggs,” co-owner James Hocking told WZZM.
The Grocery Outlet Store, limited to 75 dozen eggs a week, notes the sold-out situation is a product of both the new law and an avian flu outbreak that has cost Michigan millions of chickens.
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“My particular representative feels the largest reason is the transition to the new law is throwing a curve ball in things,” Hocking said. “Obviously, avian flu does have some effect. But I personally, I don’t believe the avian flu is as a bigger percentage as some people think.”
Over the last year, about 7 million Michigan chickens have been euthanized amid a nationwide bird flu outbreak. Nationally, the number euthanized is at about 133.5 million birds through culls at 1,400 reported outbreaks in flocks across all 50 states, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data cited by The News.
Cavitt noted the problem is particularly worrying for low-income families in Michigan struggling to survive, as many depend on eggs and chicken as budget options.
“These are things that used to be affordable, but they aren’t or won’t be anymore,” he said. “A shortage and higher prices for chicken is coming.”
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Others, meanwhile, are less convinced, suggesting instead that elevated prices are more related to avian flu and inflation than the new law.
Sen. Kevin Daley, R-Lum, sponsor of the 2019 legislation, noted in comments to MIRS last week that producers have had five years to prepare for the change.
“I don’t believe this has anything to do with the cage-free law,” Daley said of rising egg prices.
U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows large and extra-large eggs sold for between $6.02 and $5.94 a dozen across Midwest grocery stores during the first week of 2024. In California, a carton of extra-large eggs runs $8.99, according to MIRS.
Wells Farge Agri-Food Institute Secotr Manager Kevin Bergquist said in November that egg prices have been elevated since 2023 as a result of seasonal price increases and the bird flu. Prior to the ongoing avian flu outbreak that began in March 2022, the wholesale price of eggs was less than $1.50 per dozen, he said, according to WJBK.
Hocking told WZZM his egg supplier is confident supply and demand will ultimately settle out.
“I think it has a lot more to do with the adjustment, with just the cage free law. He doesn’t know how long it will be,” Hocking said. “He thinks it will be short lived. We should be able to get back to some normalcy.”
Herbruck’s Poultry, one of Michigan’s largest egg producers, said the company was well prepared for the change.
“Herbruck’s has been one of the largest producers of cage-free eggs in Michigan for years, and we are now entirely cage-free, which was an important goal that consumers have demanded from egg producers across the country,” CEO Greg Herbruck said in a statement to WZZM. “The production team at Herbruck’s has worked diligently to reach this goal through infrastructure investments and additional training on how to manage an entirely cage-free business.”