The Early Bird

…gets the eggs. Last week winter market hours began. For the next two months the market will open at 9:30 AM which gives the farmers extra time when temperatures dip and winter weather means longer travel times. A few extra degrees makes a huge difference for produce vendors bringing fresh fruits and vegetables. Many patrons forgot about this change, but many were there early stalking the stands prior to the market’s opening to be first in line for the latest staple to fall victim to inflation and supply shortages: eggs.

The pandemic showed us how precarious our supplies chains and constant availability of daily necessities have become. When a blizzard snarled I95 last winter fresh meat disappeared from grocery stores for several days and new customers flocked to the market. Economists predicted shortages of wheat, lettuce, butter, eggs, and turkey last year and those shortages are continuing into 2023 without an end in sight.

Why? Let’s take a look.

I’ll start with eggs since they’re the latest kink in the supply chain. I feel for the woman who angrily screamed at me in frustration last week when I told her, “I’m out.” It was after twelve and all the other egg vendors at the market were sold out, too, as new customers adventured into the market finding grocery store shelves bare or prices far above the usual. Another patron grumped that market prices were the same as Walmart, believing that purchasing direct from the farmer meant they should be much less. I wanted to say, “Let me tell you about those eggs from Walmart,” but they walked away too quickly.

Eggs are experiencing the perfect storm of an avian influenza epidemic, grain prices spiking due to the war in Ukraine, fuel costs, and weather-related crop failures due to drought and flooding.  Remember what a certain novel virus did to the world a few years ago? Well, the latest round of bird flu is also a novel virus and it’s been wiping out poultry in this country, over 20 million laying hens in the last year.  It is also being spread by migratory wild birds meaning it’s not just in the US. This highly pathogenic virus decimating broilers (meat chickens) and turkeys is the worst global bird flu outbreak on record.

What many non-farmers fail to understand when griping about poultry production are the logistics of disease and timelines. First, when bird flu is detected, the offending critter isn’t whisked off to the vet for supportive therapy and a spot of hot tea. Its illness signals his immediate destruction (if it’s not dead already) along with every single domestic bird on the premises and in a two mile radius.  Considering that industrial egg operations house as many as 50,000 birds in a single structure, often with multiple houses in one location, that’s a lot less eggs all of a sudden.

Unlike broiler chickens who go from chick to consumer in five to six weeks, it takes 18 to 22 weeks until a chicken is old enough to start laying eggs. That means if a laying hen operation goes down, it could be four to five months before they’re back to producing. Turkeys take 14 to 18 weeks to get to Thanksgiving size so if a turkey flock has the misfortune of getting depopulated, everyone can kiss that crop for the season goodbye. This is why a decent holiday bird now commands three figures.

Fortunately, none of the egg producers at the market have been hit by bird flu.  What is causing inflation at the farmers market are the rising production costs. Over the last two years energy costs have tripled and feed costs doubled.  Approximately 75% of an egg’s cost is the price of feed. Be thankful your farmers don’t have expensive water bills like farmers out west where a carton of eggs will set you back $12 to $15 at the local market. Egg production requires a lot of water.

Unfortunately, I feel this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to food supply chain issues as small farms dwindle and megafarms multiply. Several miles away a new egg factory just went into operation. They expect to pump 3 billion eggs into the eastern seaboard every single year.  To me, that sounds a lot like putting all your eggs in one basket.

Take a good look at our farmers market and you’ll notice there are multiple vendors offering similar products—eggs, meats, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, breads, flowers from a five-state radius.  A robust local market with redundancy is critical to creating a stable food supply.