High prices impact Indiana egg industry, consumers

By Laureen Fagan, SBT24/7 News Report

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Along with other rising food prices, the cost of eggs is up nearly 30 percent since last year

Along with other rising food prices, the cost of eggs is up nearly 30 percent since last year. And in Indiana, eggs are big business. The state is the third-highest producer of eggs in the nation, industry sources report. (Tribune file photo)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: May 5, 2008 at 10:37 AM EST

Story Updated: May 5, 2008 at 10:41 AM EST

They're used to seeing pretty big eggs in Kosciusko County.

After all, on Main Street in Mentone is arguably the world's largest egg, a 3,000-pound concrete oval proclaiming the region's interest as the "egg basket of the Midwest."

But these days, those eggs come with some pretty big price tags, too.

With milk, wheat, rice and other food costs skyrocketing, consumers are seeing their food dollar shrink at the supermarket.

But eggs, too, have spiked over the past year, up an astonishing 29.2 percent over 2007 prices, according to the most recent April numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And government projections on egg prices, released 10 days ago, have now been upped to another 3 or 4 percent increase this year.

Already, the average price for a dozen large eggs is $2.16 in the first quarter of 2008. The American Farm Bureau Federation reports that's an increase of 55 cents more than the fourth quarter of 2007.

And here in Indiana, eggs are big business. The state is third in the nation in egg production, following Iowa and Ohio. Add in the states of Pennsylvania and California, and that's about half the nation's eggs, according to USDA numbers reported by United Egg Producers.

Some of America's top egg producing operations are in Kosciusko County. Among them? Midwest Poultry Services in Mentone and Creighton Brothers in Atwood.

So what's driving the prices so high?

One factor is the high cost of feeding poultry. The USDA says the industry uses 100 billion pounds of grain each year, and those prices continue to spike.

Government and industry analysts say the same impact corn and other grain costs are having on milk prices and production, for example, are having the same kind of effect on the cost of producing eggs. With oil prices high and corn used for alternative fuels, the feeding costs are up.

At the same time, the U.S. exports about 15 percent of its eggs. Japan, Hong Kong, Canada and Mexico account for much of the trading in eggs.

But with prices so high at home, exports in January were down by more than 20 percent when compared with last year's numbers.

Prices here at home are expected to stay high as the USDA predicts slower egg production in the second half of the year.

And when it comes to big eggs, that's not the end of big costs.

The impact on businesses and prices for baked goods and other foods where eggs are key ingredients is expected, too.

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