U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins vowed to stabilize the egg market in the next 3 to 6 months. In an article published in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday (February 26), she outlined five measures that the Department of Agriculture is preparing to take to address avian flu, lower the cost of living for American families, and alleviate the burden on farmers.
The U.S. is currently experiencing an egg shortage. Recently, many households have seen egg prices soar to $6, $7, $10, or even higher per dozen, with one major reason being the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu. This disease has severely hit the U.S. poultry farming industry over the past two years, significantly reducing the egg supply.
Rollins stated that the Department of Agriculture will invest $1 billion to contain avian flu and make eggs affordable again.
She promised that the Department will invest in long-term solutions to avian flu. Since 2022, avian flu has resulted in the culling of approximately 166 million egg-laying hens.
“Eradicating avian flu is not a quick fix,” Rollins said. “Therefore, we have devised a comprehensive strategy.”
Firstly, the Department will invest up to $500 million to help poultry farmers implement high-standard biosecurity measures. She mentioned visiting an egg production farm in Texas this week that adopts stringent measures to prevent any contamination. For example, vehicles must be washed with water before entering the farm, and workers must wear protective gear and shower when entering or leaving the farm. However, avian flu can still penetrate such farms because the disease spreads through wild birds, which may enter through any damaged fencing.
The Department of Agriculture will provide free “wildlife biosecurity assessment” consultation services for all commercial egg farms and will fund up to 75% of the costs to fix biosecurity vulnerabilities.
From January 2023 to January 2025, around 150 locations have undergone this assessment and remedial actions based on risks identified by the Department inspectors. Among these 150 locations, only one has been affected by avian flu in the past.
Secondly, the Department will provide up to $400 million in additional economic assistance to farmers affected by avian flu and help them expedite the re-approval process after an avian flu outbreak to quickly resume operations.
The Department of Agriculture is exploring vaccines and treatment methods used for egg-laying hens. Rollins stated that vaccines cannot solely solve the problem, and the Department will allocate up to $100 million for the research and development of vaccines and treatment methods to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency.
“This should help reduce the need to cull chicken flocks,” she said.
Typically, farms identified with avian flu outbreaks need to cull all chicken flocks to prevent the virus from further spreading.
If resistance in chicken flocks can be enhanced through vaccines or treatment methods, it can reduce situations where entire flocks need to be culled due to outbreaks, thereby preserving more egg-laying hens and stabilizing egg supply.
So far, the Department of Agriculture has not authorized the use of vaccines.
Fourthly, other actions will be taken to lower egg prices, including eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens on poultry farms and allowing households to more easily raise chickens in their backyard.
She mentioned Proposition 12 in California, which she believes has increased production costs by setting space requirements for egg-laying hens, leading to the average egg price in California reaching $9.68 per dozen.
Lastly, temporary import measures will be considered to lower egg prices in the short term.
“We will only import eggs if they meet strict U.S. safety standards and the government ensures it will not jeopardize future market access for American farmers,” the Agriculture Secretary said.
She stated that these five strategies will not solve the problem overnight but expressed confidence in stabilizing the egg market in the next 3 to 6 months.
“American farmers need relief, and American consumers need affordable food,” she concluded.