Consumers scrambled over egg price hike
Whether it’s used for baking or for starting the day, Taoseños understand that a quality egg makes a difference. However, a recent national increase in egg costs has many wondering why they’re suddenly spending more at the grocery store for this basic commodity.
Experts say the rise in egg prices is mainly due to the avian influenza, which has been ravaging chicken farms since January 2022. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 58 million poultry birds have been affected by this disease in the U.S. as of Feb. 15. With millions of dead chickens, the supply of eggs is dragging behind the demand.
In Taos County, local farmers have felt the affects of the avian flu on their business, but usually only indirectly.
According to Randy Cruz, the owner of Cruz Ranch, whose eggs are available at Cid’s Food Market, the chickens on his farm are healthy; however, the flu has nonetheless affected his business costs. Every three months, for example, Cruz buys around 1,600 baby chicks to incubate. A year ago, Cruz said, that amount of baby chicks cost $2,200. As baby chicks become more of a commodity, Cruz is spending $5,439 on each batch of 1,600 chicks, more than a 140-percent increase.
While the avian flu is often what many point to as the reason for high egg prices, this isn’t the first time in recent history the epidemic has caused problems for small ag in rural areas. In 2015, for example, the avian flu left 51 million dead chickens in its wake.
The contrasting difference between these two epidemics is that in 2015, the average price for a dozen eggs peaked at $2.96, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2023, the average price for a dozen eggs is $4.82. The current egg market in Taos is slightly above the national average; the cheapest dozen eggs in Taos can be found at Walmart for $3.42, while the most expensive can be found at Smith’s for $9.49.
However, there are other factors that play into the rise in prices, according to local farmers.
Predator problems
Taoseños cherish organic eggs from cage-free chickens. Many people imagine these birds grazing in lush, green pastures — and that’s exactly what advertisements show. However, the caveat with cage-free chickens is that the only thing separating them from the rest of nature is usually
just a fence, an easy obstacle for desperate predators to dig under or climb over. Easy to acquire but hard to maintain, chickens are no walk in the park.
While finding local egg farmers in Taos to speak with, many told the Taos News that they no longer raised chickens because they had been killed off by coyotes or other predators. One of these farmers, Diego Sagredo, used to own around 35 chickens as pets and sell their eggs with the help of a roadside sign. Then, sometime last year, coyotes killed the chickens off, sparing only around 12, which Sagredo then gave away.
At Cruz Ranch, where 7,000 chickens graze outside of cages, predators are always a problem, which is the main reason Cruz purchases so many chicks every three months.
“They’re free-ranging, so predators are out there, so they disappear,” Cruz said. “And a lot of people don’t understand that. They go, ‘I just can’t believe your eggs are so expensive.’ But then they want the chickens to be free-ranged, right? But somebody’s got to pay the price for the chickens disappearing and the constant building of new chickens, new chickens, new chickens. You gotta take the good with the bad.”
To combat predators, Cruz has 13 dogs to guard his flock, but even that isn’t enough, as they don’t protect chickens from raptors like hawks and eagles. Just to enlist this method of security is expensive for Cruz, as the food required to maintain the canines costs $500 each month. On top of this expenditure, Cruz added, chicken feed prices have increased from $16 per bag to $22 per bag. Prices for gas required to fuel farm machinery have increased as well.
High costs, low margins
In order for chickens to lay eggs in the winter, Cruz needs light to be shining above them, which runs for 14-16 hours a day. According to Cruz, the cost of the electric bill for Cruz Ranch went from $700 in 2022 to $1,200 in 2023. Even Sagredo, a microscale hobbyist, reported that selling eggs is not profitable because the cost of maintaining the animals can be so high.
Fiona Lee, who runs a vegetable farm with chickens in Ranchos de Taos, had similar musings. Lee sells whatever excess her chickens produce at the local farmers market. In the summertime, she usually has 10 to 14 dozen eggs to sell each week. However, even selling them at $9 per carton, her profits are minimal.
“We figured out,” Lee said, “that with feed costs and all the other infrastructure that goes into raising the chickens from babies, not even including whatever chickens we lost along the way, we figured out that we were making $25 a week when we were having 10-14 dozen [eggs].”
According to Lee, the biggest issue has been the cost of chicken feed, which rose by 20 percent within the past year. Instead of paying $500 per 1,000 pounds, Lee is now paying $600. She added that she’ll have to increase her egg prices to $10 this coming summer.
According to John McMullin, the main operations manager at Embudo Valley Organics, a company that directly supplies feed to local farms and stores in New Mexico, there’s a “perfect storm” of reasons as to why chicken feed prices are increasing. According to McMullin, the war in Ukraine has impacted the import of wheat and soybeans in some states. He added that the material needed to package feed, such as bags and labels, has also become expensive.
Egg smuggling
In response to the egg fiasco, some have been getting creative with their egg shopping. People have been traveling to Mexico, where eggs are much cheaper, and trying to reenter the U.S. with undeclared eggs. However, their efforts are constantly deviled by border patrol.
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the El Paso field office, which covers west Texas and all of New Mexico, reported an 85.7-percent increase in eggs seized by CBP, the lowest of the other three field offices along the U.S.-Mexico border, all of which reported upwards of a 270-percent increase, the San Diego field office clocking in at a 389.1-percent increase.
According to Roger Maier, the public affairs specialist at U.S. CBP, people traveling into the U.S. with undeclared eggs will be fined a $300 civil penalty, and the eggs will be destroyed.
Frustration remains
While families struggle to afford yet another basic pantry item, as of now, efforts have not been made to turn this issue sunny-side-up. However, many are accusing leaders in the egg industry of poaching consumers, many pointing at the price increases as price gouging.
Some accusations are even making their way through Congress, and letters are being sent by several different entities to the Federal Trade Commission to probe egg companies for price gouging.
While the avian flu has been dismantling the nation’s egg economy, the high cost of maintaining a cage-free, organic chicken farm doesn’t help the matter. Farmers like Lee question whether or not raising chickens organically is even worth it.
“They die all the time, and you gotta go and deal with the bodies — then you’re not getting eggs from that one anymore,” Lee said. “And you’ve been raising it since it was tiny, and if you’re feeding them organically and actually trying to give them happy lives, it can be kind of weary. It can be tedious and wear you down a little bit.”
However, raising chickens this way is a “labor of love,” as Lee calls it.
While an ordinance within the Town of Taos only allows no more than 20 chickens per household, they remain a common addition to many local homes, and they will continue to have a place here for the foreseeable future.