What’s Hot: Egg prices keep rising
Months into an avian flu outbreak, the egg shortage continues, and egg prices thus continue to climb, with white large shell eggs reaching $8.47 a dozen on the wholesale market in New York this week. While the shortage was directly precipitated by the destruction of thousands of infected egg-laying hens, the factors leading to this crisis are more complicated than a simple influenza outbreak.
For one, most of the eggs purchased and consumed in the United States come from just one producer, leaving the supply chain highly susceptible to interruptions when even one of these crowded egg-laying facilities becomes infected—all the more so when multiple sites and other agricultural operations are infected.
What’s even more disconcerting is that the mass destruction of hens practiced in most egg-laying facilities does not seem to be stemming the tide of bird flu infections. Although a vaccine for avian flu is being rolled out, the egg shortage will likely continue even after its implementation.
Beyond these supply chain issues, the recent history of price-fixing within the egg industry has also led to Congressional leadership asking for a federal investigation into trade practices. While the shortage is undeniable, suspicions of price-gouging remain.
Regardless of these many intersecting causes of historically high egg prices, an ever-volatile climate and increasingly fragile ecosystem means the trend of costly food is going nowhere any time soon.
Watchdog: Amid USDA Sec. Brooke Rollins’s First Week, Farmers Feel the Pinch of Frozen Funds
On February 13, 2025, Brooke Rollins was confirmed by Congress as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture. As with other picks for Donald Trump’s cabinet, the choice is not without controversy, with Rollins’s long association with the oil industry, climate change denial, and opposition to farm subsidies.
The new secretary has nonetheless come into the position with a loaded docket, charged not only with a presidential promise to “do something” about egg prices but also to carry out Trump’s executive orders to halt funding to programs not aligned with the president’s attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. This freeze in funding has continued, despite court orders to release money associated with Congressionally approved grants.
The consequences for farmers nationwide are more than political. In no small way, the agricultural sector depends on grants from the USDA, to support not only agricultural innovation and sustainable farming initiatives but also to fund vital infrastructure and labor initiatives that are now apparently beholden to the president’s politics.
While Secretary Rollins has just this week released $20 million in conservation funds, the precedent of executive authority over the budget not only challenges Constitutional law but is making life needlessly perilous for the people who feed the country.
Quote of the Month
“These funds are not abstract numbers on a ledger — they are commitments farmers rely on to make critical business decisions. The ripple effects will impact not just farms, but rural jobs, suppliers, and entire local food systems and communities.” – Hannah Smith-Brubaker, Executive Director of Pasa Sustainable Agriculture (via WSKG).
