The economics of supply and demand continue to ripple through egg prices.
The ongoing avian flu outbreak has forced farmers to euthanize millions of egg-laying hens in an effort to stop the spread of the disease, leading to lower supply and higher prices.
If it feels like a persistent problem, that’s because it is, says Texas A&M livestock economist David Anderson.
“It really is. This started in 2022, and it keeps popping up,” Anderson said. “There are some lulls, but then there’s a whole bunch more outbreaks.”
Some consumers are turning to a novel solution: Rent The Chicken.
“We bring a chicken coop with two to four egg-laying hens to someone’s backyard. Two hens lay about a dozen eggs a week, and four hens lay about two dozen eggs a week,” said Rent The Chicken co-founder Homestead Jenn Tompkins. “It’s coming into our busy season. This kind of mimics 2023 when there was the avian flu came through.”
However, Tompkins says customers are more drawn to the concept for peace of mind rather than just saving money on eggs.
“It’s less about the skyrocketing price of eggs but more about knowing they have eggs when there might not be eggs on the shelves at the grocery store,” she said.
Launched in 2013 near Pittsburgh, Rent The Chicken partners with farmers across the U.S. and Canada, offering six-month rentals.
Tompkins says they do see interest spike during bird flu outbreaks, like one in 2022.
That’s the same year the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded a sharp increase in egg prices, similar to a spike in 2015 during another outbreak.
“Prices skyrocketed to, at that time, record highs over $5 per dozen in the wholesale market, and then the disease went away, prices came down, and we didn’t have to deal with this until 2022,” Anderson said. “This time around, instead of happening and going away for a few years, it happens, and then it happens again, and it happens again.”
Anderson anticipates another record-setting rise in egg prices before they come down near summertime, noting the volatility of the market.
In 2022, for example, wholesale egg prices exceeded $5 per dozen before falling to 84 cents by May of that year.
“Consumers take a look at the price at the store, and we buy fewer eggs,” Anderson said. “That’s what we expect to see as economists. Markets work, prices are a signal, and that price signal is ‘gosh, we’re going to buy fewer eggs,’ which works to bring down prices.”
For North Texans considering backyard chickens, Rent The Chicken does not currently have farm partners nearby. The closest option is in Austin, requiring a trip to pick up the chickens and coop.
For more information, visit Rent the Chicken’s website.
#Egg #prices #surge #avian #flu #spreads #driving #demand #NECN
Leave a Reply