Soaring egg prices in Michigan put squeeze on families, small businesses

• Farmers across the U.S. experienced one of the worst bird flu outbreaks in history, over 100 million poultry were affected 
• Egg prices have risen about one-third since last year, according to federal data
• The average cost for a dozen eggs in Michigan is $3.20 

Egg prices are rising again nationwide because of the bird flu outbreak, squeezing families and small businesses.

After climbing to $4.82 a dozen in January 2023, prices fell, but they are up again. They reached $3.20 for a dozen in August, up from $2.07 in September 2023, according to the U.S Federal Reserve.

The seesaw prices are hurting bakeries such as the Detroit Cookie Company in Ferndale. Its general manager, Tony Sevy, said the company makes 5,000 and 10,000 cookies on a busy day but has had to cut back production.

“When we started making cookies, eggs were about 3 to 4 cents per egg. Today it's about 40 cents,” Sevy said. “This is the worst time to be in a small bakery business, quite frankly.” 

Related:

• Shell shocked: Why eggs are so expensive in Michigan and when it will end. 
• Michigan’s largest egg farm lays off 400 workers amid bird flu outbreak 
• Bird flu found in hens at Michigan’s top egg producer

The company hadn’t raised prices in its seven years. But since the bird flu outbreak began in January 2022, Sevy has increased the price for individually packaged cookies from $2 to $2.50.

“The worst-case scenario is if things do continue the way they are … the cost of the cookies is going to have to increase, or the business is just not going to last,” he said. 

Costs of many grocery items remain high because of inflation and supply chain issues, including milk ($4.04 a gallon in August, up from $3.25 before the pandemic), white bread ($1.94 up from $1.61) and ground beef ($5.58, up from $3.88)

Egg prices are volatile because of the bird flu, which has affected more than 100 million birds, including 6 million in Michigan, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Avian influenza— also called bird flu is a viral infection usually spread between wild birds, but can also be transmitted to humans who come in contact with infected birds.

The virus is deadly especially for chickens, as the mortality rate for infected hens is 90% to 100%, sometimes within 48 hours, according to the CDC.

The CDC recommends farmers depopulate infected flocks to prevent the rapid spread of the disease to cattle and other animals, which can heavily impact farmers financially. 

Herbruck’s, one of the nation's top egg producers, announced in April that an infected flock was found at the company’s Green Meadow Organics facility in Ionia County. 

The flu has prompted the company to lay off 400 workers across five facilities in the county. 

It can take up to five months for a hen to be able to hatch eggs again. 

“In order to get prices back down, we have to address the source of why they've increased and in this case, it's because of the effects of the bird flu on production,” said David Ortega, food economist and professor at Michigan State University.  “The best way that we can mitigate those high prices is to ensure that … producers are taking all the precautions necessary to sort of prevent the spread of the outbreak.”

Avian influenza is always present but outbreaks are more likely to occur in the spring and fall during migration season. 

While it’s tough to predict the course of an outbreak, it is possible that an increase in bird flu activity in the fall could impact egg prices in the coming months, Ortega added. 

“If we don't have any new additional outbreaks in commercial egg operations, you can expect to start to see prices come back down within a couple of months,” he said. “It's conditional on there not being additional shocks or additional outbreaks reported.”