By Lucia Cheng, Iowa Public Radio
Iowa, IA-Egg prices will remain high this winter as bird flu cases continue to be detected across Iowa and other major egg-producing states. The United States Department of Agriculture predicts that prices will fall in the second half of 2025.
The average retail price of eggs has risen 38% since last November. It rose 8% last month alone, according to the consumer price index. As of Wednesday, they’ve set a new record high, going above the January 2023 peak with wholesale prices at $4.82 a dozen. A dozen of eggs is currently priced at $5.27, according to data firm Expana.
Grocery prices are still 20% higher than they were before the pandemic, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. The cost is influenced by factors like animal feed, transportation and drought. (And no, Taylor Swift fans cannot affect egg prices.)
Eggs are usually in high demand during the winter as people bake more often. For low-income families, eggs are also a cheap, viable solution to get enough proteins and vitamins.
The current state of bird flu
Bird flu, or Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), is a type of RNA virus with various subtypes. The particular strain currently active in the U.S. is H5N1, but different kinds of bird flu have been around for years in different parts of the globe.
Currently, state and federal officials have confirmed bird flu cases at 13 dairies and 11 poultry flocks in Iowa since May 2024. Of the 65 confirmed human cases in the U.S., more than half are in California. Most cases only showed mild respiratory cold symptoms. One severe case was reported in Louisiana.
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services reported the first human case of avian influenza in Iowa on Friday. A news release said the individual was exposed to the virus while working with a commercial flock in northwest Iowa. The department said the person reported mild symptoms, has been treated and is recovering.
The USDA reports that 6.6 million birds have been affected in this outbreak in Iowa.
What’s behind the high egg prices?
By far, bird flu is the primary reason affecting the supply and price of eggs, according to Mindy Larsen, CEO of the North Central Poultry Association and the Iowa Egg Council. But across the supply chain, the cost to get eggs from farm to table has gone up.
“Packaging has gone up for prices. Fuel prices went up, that’s the hauling in, the trucking that goes up. Every single thing in our economy as a whole that impacts anything that you buy at the store is also going to impact eggs,” Larsen said. “[Eggs] have to be washed, inspected, packaged, delivered and be in a nice presentation for the consumer.”
Larsen said farmers can get assistance from a federal program that would pay back the cost of flocks they cull due to bird flu, a process called indemnity. She said they don’t make a profit, but can break even.
The farmers themselves cannot set the price of eggs customers see at the grocery store. They can only sell at market rates. Retailers are allowed to mark prices up or down, depending on demand.
Larsen said that the egg economy is also being affected by some states, like California and Massachusetts, adopting a cage-free protocol. California and Massachusetts passed laws that say eggs that come from cage-free hens are the only ones that can be sold in the state.
Moving to a cage-free farm requires more space and infrastructure, Larsen said.
“This is a transition time in the industry, as producers try to provide what the consumer and state is asking for,” she said.
CDC says bird flu risk to humans remains low
Yuko Sato, Iowa State University’s Extension veterinarian, said the latest cases of H5N1 at poultry operations in northwest Iowa are related to a strain in wild, migrating birds.
There are two peaks throughout the year when the birds migrate, and then a lull during the summer, she said.
“This is expected and predicted for the virus to be around in the wild bird populations,” Sato said.
When Sato compared the 2015 H5N2 outbreak to 2024 H5N1, she said that biosecurity across farms improved immensely. The 2015 Bird flu affected 71 facilities, compared to today’s 24. More than 50 million birds died in 2015 compared to 14 million in 2024.
State and federal officials cull flocks due to H5N1’s highly contagious nature. Sato said that the disease is lethal for chickens and turkeys.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that eggs are safe to eat — the likelihood of eggs from infected poultry in the retail market is low, and proper storage and preparation reduce the risk even further. Cooking chicken and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit kills the H5N1 virus, according to Sato, Larsen and the CDC.
When a case of bird flu is detected, the risk of eggs and poultry in the food chain is low “because of the rapid onset of symptoms in poultry, as well as the safeguards in place, which include testing of flocks and federal inspection programs,” writes the FDA.
In addition, the commercial supply of milk and dairy products are being monitored for bird flu. The USDA and CDC warn against consuming products with raw milk. Pasteurization kills pathogens, including the H5N1 virus.
The USDA is forecasting 2025 egg production at 3% above 2024, expecting flocks to recover and therefore lower prices.
Facebook Comments