According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, the average price for a dozen Grade A eggs in the U.S. was $4.25 in December 2022 compared to $1.79 in December 2021. That's an increase of about 237 percent.

As egg prices soar, some Michiganders decide to raise their own chickens

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, the average price for a dozen Grade A eggs in the U.S. was $4.25 in December 2022 compared to $1.79 in December 2021. That's an increase of about 237 percent.

IONIA — Alex Courts observed the value of eggs beginning to rise final fall. 

Courts, the final supervisor of Ken’s Farm Market in Ionia, wasn’t alarmed on the time — however that modified.

“Once (prices) get to a sure level, which is basically the best we’ve ever seen — someday within the mid-to-late fall of (2022) — that’s after I was like, ‘OK, this can be a little bit out of the extraordinary,’” Courts mentioned. 

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More:Why are egg prices so excessive? And when will they arrive down?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, the typical value for a dozen Grade A eggs within the U.S. was $4.25 in December 2022 in contrast to $1.79 in December 2021. That’s a rise of about 237 %.

Why are prices so excessive? It’s a toss-up between greater manufacturing prices and an avian flu outbreak. The U.S. Department of Agriculture experiences greater than 43 million egg-laying hens died for the reason that starting of the outbreak in February 2022.  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports more than 43 million egg-laying hens died since the beginning of the outbreak in February 2022, affecting egg supply.

Nancy Barr, government director of Michigan Allied Poultry Industries, mentioned there are “quite a few variables” affecting the value of eggs in Michigan. She mentioned farmers don’t set the value — they promote their eggs on an open market, with prices altering every day.   

“(Impacts in the marketplace) embrace inflation, provide chain and employment prices, which affect everybody,” she mentioned, including Michigan egg farmers are extremely delicate to the price of gas prices, as nicely, which immediately impacts the price of feed and packaging.