The Chicken and Eggs Summary report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows how highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) impacted growers and consumers.
Layers averaged 379 million, down 3% from the previous year. The annual average production per layer on hand in 2022 was 289 eggs, up slightly from 2021.
“The average layers during 2022 was around 379 million. This was down 3% from a year ago in 2021,” American Farm Bureau Federation economist Bernt Nelson said. “The average production per layer was 289 eggs. This is up about 1% from 2021. Egg production in 2022 totaled 110 billion eggs, or down right around 2%.”
Table egg production, at 94 billion eggs, was down 2% from the previous year.
Hatching egg production, at 15.5 billion eggs, was up 2% rom 2021.
Nelson noted a recent drop in prices sparked more demand, bringing prices back up in February.
“Since prices have kind of dropped off a little bit, especially on the wholesale side of things, the retailers have really started to pick up their purchasing, and that in turn has increased our demand and thus raised prices up again,” he said. “So, the national average, we’re looking at our large Grade A shell eggs coming in at around $4.82 per dozen. So, we’re seeing these prices kind of pick back up again for the near term.”
The next few months will be key to where prices move later this year.
“We’re going into the migratory waterfowl season, and so far in February, things have remained pretty calm,” Nelson said. “At this time last year was when we really saw the HPAI cases starting to accelerate. So, if things remain slower and we don’t see as many outbreaks, we may see some of these prices come back down as producers actively pursue replenishing their inventory.”
The report shows the total inventory of chickens as of Dec. 1, excluding commercial broilers, was 512 million birds, down 2% from last year.
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