America’s egg producers are making document income whereas receiving tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} from taxpayers through the USDA for bird-flu associated culls, The Submit has discovered.
Cal-Maine, the nation’s largest egg producer, made $876 million internet revenue during the last 9 months, it introduced in April. The determine was 5 instances the $164 million it had made in the identical interval throughout their 2024 monetary 12 months.
The income are being pushed by the continued sky excessive worth of eggs for customers — at the moment $4.60 per dozen — pushed up by birds being culled as a result of avian influenza.
Cal-Maine – whose manufacturers embody Land O’ Lakes and Egg-Land’s Finest – mentioned worth will increase have been “a direct results of the diminished provide of shell eggs throughout the business as a result of [avian flu] throughout a interval of peak seasonal demand for eggs and egg merchandise,” in keeping with its quarterly report.
Publicly traded Cal-Maine, which has roughly 47 million laying hens, needed to cull about 4% of its flock amid fowl flu outbreaks, which began in 2022.
For every of these birds they obtain between $15 and $17 per hen from the US Division of Agriculture (USDA).
The corporate quickly shuttered one in every of its services in Texas final 12 months, slaughtering almost two million hens and receiving $21 million in USDA cash. A cull of 1.5 million hens at one in every of its services in Chase, Kansas, the 12 months earlier than resulted in a cost of $22 million, in keeping with Inside Indiana Enterprise.
Taxpayers have shelled out $1.25 billion in fowl flu compensation funds since 2020 via to November of final 12 months, in keeping with the Federal Register.
Cal-Maine isn’t the largest beneficiary of USDA funds up to now. Hillandale, one of many high 5 egg producers within the nation with services in Ohio and Pennsylvania, obtained $53 million, in keeping with the Washington Submit. One other of the highest producers, Versova, which has round 20 million hens at operations in Iowa and Ohio, has been allotted greater than $107 million, in keeping with the report.
These corporations are all privately owned and due to this fact not required to publicly disclose revenue figures. Neither does Iowa-based Rembrandt Meals, which obtained $26 million in USDA funds when it was owned by billionaire Glen Taylor, in keeping with native information experiences from the time. It’s unclear whether or not Taylor nonetheless owns a stake, in keeping with the Washington Submit.
Angela Huffman, who’s the president and co-founder of Farm Motion – a gaggle backed by smaller farmers to take goal at “company monopolies” – accused the egg producers of “company greed” for accepting thousands and thousands in taxpayer-funded aid funds from the federal authorities whereas quietly breaking the financial institution.
“Throughout [the early months of 2025 when Cal-Maine made $508 million profit], they have been blaming excessive egg costs on losses from avian flu, which prompted USDA Secretary Rollins to commit one billion {dollars} to the egg business,” Farm Motion president Angela Huffman instructed The Submit.
“There isn’t a motive that the biggest egg producer within the nation needs to be bailed out by our authorities whereas concurrently tripling their income.”
Paradoxically, the egg corporations have been laughing all the way in which to the financial institution because the epidemic started. Within the first three months of 2021, Cal-Maine made $359 million in gross sales. 4 years later, its income has quadrupled — regardless that they solely offered about 20% extra eggs, Fortune experiences.
Cal-Maine’s monetary experiences present it has been in a position to greater than triple its common worth for a dozen eggs, from about $1.30 earlier than the outbreak to as excessive as $4.06.
Nevertheless, the patron pays much more – with American consumers reaching a document peak of $6.23 for a dozen eggs in March, in keeping with the Shopper Value Index.
In line with Huffman, as an alternative of utilizing the windfall income they’re incomes from the document egg costs to rebuild or broaden their egg-laying flocks, the biggest egg producers are utilizing them to purchase up smaller rivals and additional consolidate market energy.
Though Cal-Maine produces 90% of their very own eggs, farms who’ve a contract to provide eggs to them are paid simply $0.27 per dozen, per an investigation by Farm Motion.
An investigation to alleged price-fixing for eggs has been launched by the Division of Justice.
In January, egg costs rose 15.2% — and the USDA predicts egg costs will improve not less than one other 41% this 12 months, The Submit beforehand reported.
In some New York Metropolis supermarkets, the value for a dozen common eggs has hit or surpassed the $10 mark. Shops providing decrease costs, together with Dealer Joe’s and Costco, have imposed limits on what number of clients can purchase.
“If taxpayers are going to subsidize egg producers for flocks misplaced to fowl flu, then the least these corporations may do isn’t worth gouge customers,” a supply, who spoke on situation of anonymity, instructed The Submit.
In a March letter to the Federal Commerce Fee and Division of Justice, Farm Motion claimed that Cal-Maine Meals has taken benefit of the avian flu disaster to “elevate costs, amass document income and consolidate market energy”.
Whereas US egg farms have destroyed some 115 million hens over 24 months to cease the unfold of fowl flu, the biggest suppliers are displaying “a outstanding unwillingness” to put money into increasing their flocks, in keeping with the letter.
The group has accused main egg producers are protecting the availability of recent egg-laying hens “stagnant” with the intention to delay their run of document income.
The opposite corporations accused of colluding with Cal-Maine are the 4 different largest egg producers, every with between 15 and 30 million hens: Rose Acre Farms, Dawn Meals, Hillandale Farms, and Versova Holdings.
Cal-Maine didn’t reply to The Submit’s request for remark.
The Trump administration has introduced new measures to deal with fowl flu together with ramping up biosecurity measures and rising the compensation paid out when contaminated flocks are killed.
The US egg-laying flock has but to return to its pre-epidemic measurement of round 330 million hens.
Over the last fowl flu outbreak from 2014 to 2015, producers misplaced and changed over 35 million hens in lower than a 12 months, making a full restoration from the outbreak. This time round, there isn’t a restoration in sight after two years.
In 2023, Cal-Maine and three different egg producers have been ordered to pay $17.7 million in damages by a federal jury after meals suppliers accused the businesses of conspiring to restrict the egg provide within the US.
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