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Switching to cage-free egg production a long, expensive process

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack meets with egg producers and industry leaders next week to discuss issues with raising cage free eggs. Vilsack says many in the U.S. want to offer cage free eggs, but he questions whether customers realize what it takes to make that possible.

United Egg Producers President Chad Gregory says around 90 percent of egg farms now produce eggs through conventional methods.

“To switch that 90 percent over to cage-free, we’re looking at $45.00 per bird. So a one million bird egg farm which is about average these days would cost $45 million dollars” says Gregory.

Gregory says around 160 companies have committed to selling cage free eggs. Given what they need to meet demand, he says it’s a significant investment.

“The food companies and retailers who have made these announcements so far, they have collectively buy around two hundred million birds on an annual basis. So you take those two hundred million birds, times $45.00 per bird, and you get somewhere around eight to ten billion dollars.” says Gregory.

Gregory says switching to cage free doesn’t happen overnight and companies will need to make huge investments in time and resources to meet the goal of supplying only cage free eggs.

Audio: Chad Gregory, President, United Egg Producers