# Price of eggs



## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I was in Aldi's this morning, and the price of large eggs was 80 cents a dozen. 
No clue what the store is paying the farmer. Don't see how farmers can make ends meet with that kind of money.
I get $ 3 a dozen year round from my regular customers and they come to me. So what do you get ?


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

There are millions of layers in Michigan. The operation that I know about, Herbrick, can afford to sell eggs so cheap due to economy of scale.

They sell a variety of eggs, white, brown, organic, cage free, free range, perhaps vegetarian. 

They operate their own feed mill, cutting transportation charges. Their buildings have quality air handling systems, insuring comfortable temperatures and fresh air.

They buy strains that will out produce anything you can buy.

Their average mortality rate is less than the average back yard flock.

I found it interesting that in research with MSU, cage free hens have higher death rates than those kept in cages. Seems it would be the other way around. 

This big operation ships eggs out within a few hours of it falling out of the hen. Seems the lighter yoke color and runnier egg white isn't age, but a result of the higher production found in these birds.

I'm sure the 80 cents represents a razor thin profit margin.

I think there is a greater profit in puppy mills and moonshine stills.


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## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

Aldie here is 33 cents a dozen . so they are making money at 80 cents for sure .
I don't remember ever seeing eggs this low . last year they were $ 2.50 a dozen and that was the lowest in the area as other stores were over $3


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## thekibblegoddes (Jun 24, 2014)

This time last year there were major outbreaks of Avian Flu. A lot of chickens were destroyed cutting down the supply and driving up the price for meat and eggs.

And traditionally, eggs have been a loss leader for stores. They lure you in with cheap eggs and hope you buy more than just eggs. And, you're right, there's a very slim profit margin on eggs. Eggs from my free-range flock sell for $5/dzn, but most 'yard eggs' here go for about $3/dzn. I have very good clients - they told me i was charging too little and paid me more! Even so, I'm not making anything, but it does pay for their feed and some of the goats feed too.


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2016)

1) A great deal of grain is imported by commercial poultry operations from 3rd world countries, where they buy it very cheap, MUCH cheaper than they can get it from US sources. Corporations like Tyson etc do this and make their own feed at their own mills.

2) It's common practice for stores to sell eggs for less than what they paid for them. This is called a loss leader. People go into the store to grab a dozen eggs, and while they're in there, they see a few more things to buy before they get to the checkout lanes.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

There is a local mill in the city closest to us. It was bought by a chicken farmer. Only organic feed. We can still buy
feed there but it is already bagged and comes from another mill. 
The cousin likes to tell me I won't be able to keep getting my 3 a dozen for eggs when the price keeps dropping.
I tell her it's like comparing apples to oranges. My customers been with me quite a while now.
If I would do the farmers market, I could get $ 4. Not worth my time to sit there all day.


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## Nathanaf8388 (Oct 25, 2013)

Eggs were 37cents a dozen the other day here


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

ladycat said:


> 1) A great deal of grain is imported by commercial poultry operations from 3rd world countries, where they buy it very cheap, MUCH cheaper than they can get it from US sources. Corporations like Tyson etc do this and make their own feed at their own mills.
> 
> 2) It's common practice for stores to sell eggs for less than what they paid for them. This is called a loss leader. People go into the store to grab a dozen eggs, and while they're in there, they see a few more things to buy before they get to the checkout lanes.


The US is a major exporter of grain. I've never heard of any Third world countries exporting grain to the US. A couple decades ago, China exported grain. We get some wheat from Canada. A little corn comes from Brazil, to the southeast poultry farms for a couple cents per bushel cheaper than Midwest corn.
US corn and soybeans are cheap. Corn is currently $3.43 cents a bushel. Soybeans are under $10. a bushel.


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## Guest (Dec 27, 2016)

haypoint said:


> The US is a major exporter of grain. I've never heard of any Third world countries exporting grain to the US.


I've read the reports in the commercial poultry trade magazines. The corporate poultry and pork companies buy it off the open world market very similar to the way oil is purchased by the oil companies.


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## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

We sell free range eggs for $5/dozen in Canadian dollars. We never have enough to sell. Makes me want more chickens.


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## Vahomesteaders (Jun 4, 2014)

Aldis 39c here. We get 3.50 a dozen for our free range eggs year round.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

tree-farmer said:


> We sell free range eggs for $5/dozen in Canadian dollars. We never have enough to sell. Makes me want more chickens.


Canadian government controls food prices. What does a dozen eggs cost in the store? Many Canadians stock up on milk and turkey when they are in the US.


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

Yep, the 'basic' cheapest eggs are very low in the stores these days.
But of course as we've discussed in the past, 
you can't compare 'home grown' food with grocery food.
Apples to Oranges.

I sell to my few customers for 3.50.
Covers all feed and most supplies,
plus all I need from the 'rejects'.

My customers have 'comfortable' incomes. 
They buy from me more to support my endeavor than any 'superiority' of product.
Tho they also would be mostly buying the 'marketed' eggs at the store,
the ones with much higher prices and the buzzwords of 'cage free', 'pastured', etc.
Once I explain what those terms _really_ mean, 
they are more than happy to give me their money instead even tho my birds are fed commercial feed and are confined so do not forage.


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## Pyrpup2016 (Sep 11, 2016)

I get $4.50, but many people give me $5, and say to keep the change. My neighbors come by and say my eggs are so different/fresh that they'll come buy even if I only have a 1/2 dozen for them.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

When the egg cost was way up at the grocery store I was selling 6 to 8 dozen a day for $3 per---to good faithful customers---these good customers become CHEAP customers when Grocery Stores started lower and lower the price. I had to feed a lot of eggs to the hogs. SO--I sold all but 20 hens some time back. My family and a couple die hard customers that bought no mater what the grocery store charged gets these eggs. Before Christmas it felt so good to tell some of the cheap customers that wanted these GOOD eggs to cook their cakes but had not wanted/bought any eggs for a long while----"you people stopped buying eggs so I sold my chickens" (thinking in my mind---bet your cake don't turn out as good with them cheap grocery store eggs you started buying some time back) LOL.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

I sell mine for $3.00/dozen. It's probably as high as I could go to attract customers, since it's a little rural township and not the Hippy-Dippy burbs.

When eggs are cheap at the stores, some customers can't resist, and they stock up. I particularly remember a couple of weeks last fall when they were $1.00/dozen. As far as Aldi's goes, I don't think they are that cheap most weeks - it's a loss-leader thing. 

If somebody wants good farm eggs, they are usually willing to pay for them.


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

I saw an article in a financial magazine that prices for beef, milk, eggs, and cheese are cheap currently - due to grain prices being low, transportation costs being low, and with the eggs - there is no avian flu outbreak.

It did say that prices are likely to start increasing again in 2017.

The back yard egg producer can't compete with the larger chicken operations / grocery stores.

So, you have to market your eggs as fresh / free ranging chickens. 

Some people will pay you whatever you ask for- for fresh home laid eggs.
But some people are only willing to pay the regular retail price because an egg is egg to them no matter where it comes from.

So you just have to be creative and market your eggs to people interested in fresh, local, home laid eggs.


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## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

haypoint said:


> Canadian government controls food prices. What does a dozen eggs cost in the store? Many Canadians stock up on milk and turkey when they are in the US.


And cheese and a full gas tank. I wasn't aware you could cross the border with meat though. Even just about everything else that isn't managed still costs more up here. I'm about 7 hours north of the border, so I just deal with it.

The cheapest eggs in the grocery store are around $3, and the most expensive ones are over $7. I am in the most expensive province (BC), and I imagine they'd cost less elsewhere.


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## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

I figure people that go for the cheap eggs aren't interested in farm eggs.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

tree-farmer said:


> I figure people that go for the cheap eggs aren't interested in farm eggs.


 One of my friends was here visiting. I told her I had a surplus of eggs that day and could give her a deal on some. She mentioned that Aldis had them for .90 a dozen. I told her I could do $ 1 per dozen times a couple of dozen. She told me no thanks, she would go to Aldi's and buy them and save the dime. And she loves my eggs. She just won't pay a fair price. I have not offered her any eggs since that day.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

Haha. I just give eggs to friends and family - that way, they stay friends and family. I sell eggs to everybody else.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

ladytoysdream said:


> One of my friends was here visiting. I told her I had a surplus of eggs that day and could give her a deal on some. She mentioned that Aldis had them for .90 a dozen. I told her I could do $ 1 per dozen times a couple of dozen. She told me no thanks, she would go to Aldi's and buy them and save the dime. And she loves my eggs. She just won't pay a fair price. I have not offered her any eggs since that day.


That is common. Lots of people, when asked, will say they prefer organic fruits and vegetables. Most say that they would pay more to get organic. But when it comes to actually shopping, most just buy the standard fruits and vegetables. I guess eggs are the same way. 

With that in mind, I think people want to eat healthy and support humane treatment of animals. A few times while shopping, I see people approach the egg section. They are drawn to the cheap eggs, but notice the eggs with EB stamped on them, more vitamins, healthier. But the there are the brown eggs, that seems healthy, too. Here are some marked "vegetarian fed", that sounds good. Oh, look, cage-free eggs, that is humane. "Organic fed" is good, no one wants pesticides. Sometimes there are "free range" eggs. Oh, just like grandma had. I doubt one shopper in a hundred can make an educated selection. But most end up buying the cheap eggs.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

Alder said:


> Haha. I just give eggs to friends and family - that way, they stay friends and family. I sell eggs to everybody else.


 A few years back my 75 yr old Mother had some chickens, She said she wanted to get rid of them but she wanted farm eggs and wanted to see if I was planning to keep my chickens so she could buy eggs from me. I said Mom I am keeping my chickens and I will give you eggs. We argued(Loving) back and forth for a couple weeks---till her chickens were gone. I gave her 2 dozen eggs and she Made me take the money. She said "I know what it takes to feed and raise chickens so I am giving you $2 per dozen(which is what I was selling them for at that time) for the eggs. After that I just kept my mouth shut and sold her all the eggs she wanted, then my sisters wanted eggs and insisted I take the $2 to help out with feed. My son wanted eggs and asked if I would let him start getting them for $2. I said you can have them---no I want to help out with the feed. Well I sell all my family eggs!!


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

ticndig said:


> Aldie here is 33 cents a dozen . so they are making money at 80 cents for sure .
> I don't remember ever seeing eggs this low . last year they were $ 2.50 a dozen and that was the lowest in the area as other stores were over $3


When they price them that low there is always a limit of 3 or 4 dozen since they are losing money. It is a "lost leader". Aldi did this by us to bring in the holiday shoppers, and there was a limit. The "break even" point is probably just under their lowest regular price, perhaps at about 70 cents.


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## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

I'd feed them to the dogs before I'd sell them for $1/doz! But we give eggs to family sometimes but we don't live in the same town. We gave them turkeys for xmas and thanksgiving though, that counts for something!

The rest of the turkeys we had no problem selling for $5/lb even though the stores were selling them at a loss to attract customers. I saw them for under $1/lb!


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I have fed them to my dog. And I do feed the few cracked ones back to the hens in a cake like treat, I bake for them. Also, I have gave them to a food pantry. 

Just that when we come out of winter, and my hens were laying 5 dz plus a day, there was no way I was keeping up till market started. So about a month backed up. I was trying to help my friend who always cries poverty. I figured a buck for a couple of dozen would help her out. I was not going any lower. I had another friend here at the same time visiting, who has her own hens and feeds organic, and and she could not understand her either. Made no sense to the both of us. The one who turned me down, did say she did not want to get hooked again on my good eggs versus what she could buy in the store, that mine were much better.

I bought turkeys for .45 a pound at Walmart this fall. Not currently at this price but I keep checking every time I go in there. I only got 2 the first time. Did not have room in the freezer for more.


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## pitbulllover123 (Nov 5, 2014)

Man i wish i was where you guys lived. where we live a 5 dozen eggs cost around 7.00 for the small eggs that are caged up in cage's. I have my own hens but i only have 6 Rhode island red hens and 2 rooster's who are free ranged so often and get a good layer ration and they have been producing all through this cold winter. 

I am hoping to buy my self a 90 egg incubator and hatch out some of my own chicks so i don't have to buy from the grocery store's i get jumbo sized eggs even some times a double yoke from one of my older hens she is roughly 2 years old. I get 6 eggs a day sometimes when i don't pick the eggs up for 3 days i get 21 eggs or so.


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## raisinem (Jul 27, 2016)

3.00 a dozen for me or I will keep them and feed them back to the chickens dogs or whatever.


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## pitbulllover123 (Nov 5, 2014)

raisinem said:


> 3.00 a dozen for me or I will keep them and feed them back to the chickens dogs or whatever.



Yeah i have 3 pit bulls who love raw eggs it is also good for there coat. in the spring i don't plan on selling any eggs i plan to raise my own chicks for eggs with the hens and meat with the roosters as my 2 roosters i have now are very meaty birds


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## Declan (Jan 18, 2015)

Our Aldi's had them at 39 cents after Thanksgiving but 59 cents the last time I went there a week or so ago.


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## Nathanaf8388 (Oct 25, 2013)

Milk is 1.35 here at dollar general. They can't keep it stocked


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

I only sell hatching eggs, not eating eggs, but around here eating eggs off the farm seem to go for about $2.50 a dozen.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

There is one store locally, I heard is selling eggs for .48 a dozen. 

I been emailing with the cousin and she typed this to me. 
"Eggs are cheap because big bakeries have found using substitutes has kept their cost down causing a back up on egg stock in coolers"


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Supply and demand, it's that simple. The cost of feed (mostly corn and soybeans) is way down from a few years ago. 

http://www.aeb.org/farmers-and-marketers/industry-overview

http://www.macrotrends.net/2532/corn-prices-historical-chart-data


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

I was getting $4 a dozen at the farmer's market all summer. Last winter, I had a lady that would buy them all, every 2 weeks, for $2.50 a dozen. Farmer's market is over, the egg lady developed health problems. I hatched off a few and now eat them all. 

The old thing about eggs=cholesterol=bad for you is just nonsense, and has been proven as such. I never worry about it. Good source of protein, and I probably have a couple hundred here now. 2 months worth, at least!!

I never look in that part of the grocery store when I go, but I did hear about 2 1/2 dozen for a buck at a store next town over.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Kwik Trip back to $1.29 a dozen today. Still too low to compete price-wise, but better.

With respect to cholesterol, my mom and dad both ate eggs virtually everyday of their lives, but then died. At age 95 and 96.


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

Was in grocery store yesterday, typical franchise not bargain type, and looked more closely.
Cheapest eggs were 1.88.
'Cage free', which is basically what I have but with way more space, were 3.49 which is what I charge.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

aart said:


> Was in grocery store yesterday, typical franchise not bargain type, and looked more closely.
> Cheapest eggs were 1.88.
> 'Cage free', which is basically what I have but with way more space, were 3.49 which is what I charge.


 Cage free or free range? Do yours ever get outside?


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

haypoint said:


> Cage free or free range? Do yours ever get outside?


 They were 'cage free', IIRC meaning not in cages but still really cramped for space.

Yes, I have pretty good space 125sqft coop and 480sqft mesh covered run for 21 birds. Tho most don't like to go out in the snow, so a little cramped in coop on those days, very small sheltered area in run.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

aart said:


> They were 'cage free', IIRC meaning not in cages but still really cramped for space.
> 
> Yes, I have pretty good space 125sqft coop and 480sqft mesh covered run for 21 birds. Tho most don't like to go out in the snow, so a little cramped in coop on those days, very small sheltered area in run.


I do find it interesting that commercial free range operations provide the opportunity for going outside, few hens bother, preferring the comfortable temperature, good air flow, fresh water and feed inside.


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## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

haypoint said:


> I do find it interesting that commercial free range operations provide the opportunity for going outside, few hens bother, preferring the comfortable temperature, good air flow, fresh water and feed inside.


I find that strange as well, maybe it's the breed but when it's nice out around here my birds are outside except to lay or sleep and sometimes eat. Even in the winter they get out for a couple hours a day.


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

haypoint said:


> I do find it interesting that commercial free range operations provide the opportunity for going outside, few hens bother, preferring the comfortable temperature, good air flow, fresh water and feed inside.





tree-farmer said:


> I find that strange as well, maybe it's the breed but when it's nice out around here my birds are outside except to lay or sleep and sometimes eat. Even in the winter they get out for a couple hours a day.


Yeah, I've seen photos and short vids of these situations, but who knows what _really_ happens in those places?<shrugs> My birds spend most their time outside if it's not real nasty out. We just had a 3 day storm with lots of wind, almost constant snow, and single to teen F temps, they all stayed inside most of the time.


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## cowboy joe (Sep 14, 2003)

I was considering increasing my flock so I could sell some eggs. Like most here, $3 is break even so I'd be selling a dozen for at least $3.50 / dozen unless they bring their own container then I could sell for $3. Most folks have no concept of what the real costs are; they think we're greedy and making a fortune.

Most major grocery chains have products they sell far below costs which they use as a hook. The thought is a customer will come in for the discounted product and fill up their cart while they're in the store so the grocer ends up making money regardless.


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## DragonFlyFarm (Oct 12, 2012)

Holy Cow! I'm in Northern California, cheap grocery store eggs (Lucky's) are around $3.00 per dozen. Local free range/organic go for $5-8.00 per dozen. You can get free range eggs from local farmers for $5-6.00 per dozen.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Expect egg prices to edge up a bit. Way back last year, when Avian Influenza resulted in euthanizing millions of chickens, eggs were imported from other countries. World trade insures near even prices all the time. When a huge loss of production raises the price a bit, it becomes profitable for others to ship eggs to the US. Now, we are going to send eggs to South Korea to take advantage of the higher prices there.

" US strikes deal to export eggs to bird flu-stricken S Korea
Kuwait Times January 7, 2017

CHICAGO: The United States has reached an agreement that is expected to open the door for its first-ever exports of shell eggs to South Korea, as the North Asian country labors through its worst outbreak of bird flu in history, US government and industry officials said on Friday. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been negotiating with South Korea's government to enable shipments ahead of peak egg demand in the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday season.



Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, a trade group, said the two sides reached an agreement over health statements. They were in talks after South Korea lifted a ban on imports of US shell eggs that it imposed when the United States grappled with its own bout of bird flu in 2015, according to the USDA. In South Korea, more than 30 million birds have been culled, most of them egg-laying hens, since the outbreak began in November.

The losses have pushed up egg prices and created a shortfall. "I think there will be a lot of eggs on the way to Korea immediately," Sumner said. "It'll be boatloads." He declined to give a dollar estimate. South Korea's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment. Different strains of bird flu, which can be spread to poultry by wild birds, have been detected across Asia and in Europe in recent weeks.

Full text:

http://news.kuwaittimes.net/website/us-strikes-deal-export-eggs-bird-flu-stricken-s-korea/


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I was in Aldi's today and priced eggs. They are 78 cents a dozen. Limit 6. 
The last few weeks, they had been at $ 1.25 a dozen. It was not in their 
flyer as a advertised special. Neither was their special on milk sale, limit 6.


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## Radams1265 (Mar 2, 2016)

haypoint said:


> Expect egg prices to edge up a bit. Way back last year, when Avian Influenza resulted in euthanizing millions of chickens, eggs were imported from other countries. World trade insures near even prices all the time. When a huge loss of production raises the price a bit, it becomes profitable for others to ship eggs to the US. Now, we are going to send eggs to South Korea to take advantage of the higher prices there.
> 
> " US strikes deal to export eggs to bird flu-stricken S Korea
> Kuwait Times January 7, 2017
> ...



One of the original outbreaks was across the street from us, it looked like a invasion when the national guard came through with humvees load with gunners and hazmat suits, burned my buddy's tractor and disk.(he farmed field that the chicken farm was on)


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

..and yesterday at a standard franchise grocery(not bargain place)in rural Michigan.
Cage Free, Vegetarian fed, Certified Humane eggs were $1/dz.

Wish I had thought to look at sell by date, wonders if they were near sell by date as well as being 'loss leader' of the week? Not many folks go for that labeling shtick around here.

Usually those 'special' prices are on the standard white eggs that are cheapest at 'regular' prices.


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## Morledzep (Jan 13, 2017)

In California, before we moved I was getting $4 per dozen for eating eggs and $5 per dozen for hatching eggs. 

So far, since we've been in Alabama my girls were just starting to really produce again when it got cold and the days got short. Right now they are just keeping us in eggs with little extra. But I've seen signs locally for folks selling eggs that say $3 or $4 per dozen. :dance:


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

aart said:


> ..and yesterday at a standard franchise grocery(not bargain place)in rural Michigan.
> Cage Free, Vegetarian fed, Certified Humane eggs were $1/dz.
> 
> Wish I had thought to look at sell by date, wonders if they were near sell by date as well as being 'loss leader' of the week? Not many folks go for that labeling shtick around here.
> ...


Found out that those eggs were not anywhere near their sell by date and JD packaging date was only a few days old.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile. He created a way the consumer could get what they wanted at a price they could afford.

Same with food products.

Large egg operations can reduce costs by increasing efficiency. Climate control, air circulation, added lighting, perfectly balanced feed, steady supply of clean fresh water, high bio-security standards increases production cheaper than feeding more hens.

Recently, with increased consumer awareness, the egg industry has found a way to satisfy consumer desires at the lowest possible cost.

Just as the clothing industry changes as clothing fads emerge, the food industry is quick to fill that change in consumer demand.

Brown eggs, low cholesterol eggs, organic fed, vegetarian fed, cage free, free range, whatever the demand, the need will be met.

Commercial operations generally have access to superior egg laying strains than we can buy. They mix their own feed, buying both in bulk and through futures contracts insuring their feed costs will be far less than anything a small operator can obtain.

While some backyard egg producers do a brisk business, as I drive around and see the FRESH EGGS sign that is always out at the end of their driveway, I wonder how many days those eggs have been sitting in their 'fridge, waiting for a random customer?

Hard to admit, but to make money selling eggs, your salesman skills need to create a sense that your eggs are somehow better and that it is worth the extra cost to promote a way of life you want to exist.


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## Guest (Jan 27, 2017)

haypoint said:


> Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile. He created a way the consumer could get what they wanted at a price they could afford.


So many people don't know that! Just as Thomas Edison did not invent the lightbulb. He just perfected it. 

But this is off topic so I'll shut up now.


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## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

haypoint said:


> While some backyard egg producers do a brisk business, as I drive around and see the FRESH EGGS sign that is always out at the end of their driveway, I wonder how many days those eggs have been sitting in their 'fridge, waiting for a random customer?


On local groups online I see a lot of people advertising to sell their eggs, usually with little response, and they're selling them for $1/doz less than us. Most of them live a ways out of town where I suspect a lot of their neighbours also have chickens. We only manage to do as well as we do because my wife works in the community.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

A friend of mine was bragging to me about getting 30 brown eggs for $ 1. 
So that is 1 flat. She bought 2 flats from the lady. Total $ 2, These eggs were sold at 
a auction, I am told. I don't have need for any of them but I found it interesting. 

I continue to get $ 3 a mixed dozen. Mostly browns, a few green, blue, and maybe a
white one per dozen. Any small / pullet ones, I use here for us. Any huge jumbo ones, 
I may keep them here, unless I have a jumbo carton to put them in. I recycle used cartons.


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## Morledzep (Jan 13, 2017)

DragonFlyFarm said:


> Holy Cow! I'm in Northern California, cheap grocery store eggs (Lucky's) are around $3.00 per dozen. Local free range/organic go for $5-8.00 per dozen. You can get free range eggs from local farmers for $5-6.00 per dozen.


That was the thing when I still lived in California. The price of eggs was so high, it was far less expensive to grow my own. And folks were READY to pay $4 per dozen for backyard chickens that were never caged. And more for organic (mine weren't, they refused to eat the organic pellets..lol) 

On our move across the country I was dismayed to find eggs for $0.60 per dozen at the grocery stores. With those kind of prices I figured I'd probably never get anyone to buy my eggs anymore. Which, I guess is fine, but I liked it much better when the girls paid for their feed and still gave me enough eggs for me and my dogs. :hobbyhors


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

tree-farmer said:


> On local groups online I see a lot of people advertising to sell their eggs, usually with little response, and they're selling them for $1/doz less than us. Most of them live a ways out of town where I suspect a lot of their neighbours also have chickens. We only manage to do as well as we do because my wife works in the community.


I only sell my extras - I like to keep a few more hens than we actually need in case of losses - to be able to cull, etc. My set-up is self-serve at the end of the farm road 2 days/week so virtually no work and no bother. So far, I sell about enough to get more or less free eggs for the family - at least pay for the feed for the 8-9 months they are laying well. And I never sell any that are over 3 days old, but keep the older ones for the family.

No way would I go into it any bigger from what I see around the neighborhood. To sell more would involve much more hassle than it's worth.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Aldi's has been quite consistent at .69 a dozen.
Today in Walmart, I saw a twin pack of 18 eggs per carton X 2, equals 36
eggs = 3 dozen total, for $ 2.10. On a end cap cooler where customers can
spot them quicker. So that is 70 cents per dozen. Competition for Aldi's.

I continue to get $ 3 a mixed dozen. Mostly browns, a few green, blue, and maybe a
white one per dozen. Any small / pullet ones, I now have a buyer for them.
And I now have a buyer for any I have left over after taking care of my
regular customers. He took 20 dozen Monday and probably Saturday wants
another 10-15 dozen if I have them. I had to come down in price for him, as
he only gets $ 1.75 a dozen from his customers. But it sure beats them backing
up on me. I date all of mine to track them.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I was in Aldi's today and eggs were .49 a dozen, limit 6.
Milk was 1.57 a gallon on the skim, limit 6.

So lowest price on eggs I have seen so far. I don't get it.
Don't seem like it can go any lower.


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## sniper69 (Sep 23, 2007)

For the last few months the local Krogers, Meijer, and Walmart have been in price wars concerning eggs and milk. So milk has consistently been $1.29 a gallon and eggs have been around 49 cents a dozen and 69 cents for the 1.5 dozen container in my area with no limits. IT is crazy that they can keep doing this week after week. Now other eggs like brown, organic, pasture raised, etc cost more.


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## Nom_de_Plume (Feb 12, 2017)

tree-farmer said:


> We sell free range eggs for $5/dozen in Canadian dollars. We never have enough to sell. Makes me want more chickens.


We sell at $4.50/dozen here in BC as well, and can't keep up with the demand. Too bad we can only have 99 without small lot permit or quota


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

.99 at food lion. .79 at farmer market. Some $2.00 at neighbors down the rd.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Today in Walmart, the cheapest eggs were 58 cents a dozen.
What I found interesting, was you could buy a half dozen for 37 cents.
I noticed a friend buying the half dozen is what caught my attention.
I said, now Aldi's has them for 49 cents a dozen this week.
Friend said, but I only need a half dozen at a time.


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## Christopher McClung (May 1, 2017)

Jeez. Around here they aren't that cheap. Regular large eggs are $1.69 per dozen. We sell a ton of eggs ( over 100 doz per month some months) for $3.00 a doz. I discovered it was cheaper to go to a farmers auction and buy eggs and resell them than raise all those layers.


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

Boy I wish we had Aldi's here


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Me too and I've never been to one.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I moved less than a year after an Aldi's went in close to where I used to live. It's a fabulous store with great prices. I make a 75 mile one-way journey about 4 times a year to stock up. Since I also meet with friends when I go that way, it's a pleasant day. 
But when I lived just 25 miles away, I could take advantage of the wonderful dairy prices -- gallon of milk for $1.50 or less, eggs less than $1.00, heavy cream for $1.00, etc. Now I stock up on more durable groceries but still get some dairy. But it's still worth the trip.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Christopher McClung said:


> We sell a ton of eggs ( over 100 doz per month some months) for $3.00 a doz. I discovered it was cheaper to go to a farmers auction and buy eggs and resell them than raise all those layers.


Let me give you a heads up. If you want to maintain your customers, you want to make sure your source on the eggs. A friend of mine bragged about buying 30 eggs for $ 1 total. They came from a auction, I found out later. My friend told me later that when she found a dead chick in her frying pan, she almost tossed her cookies. I told her, you got what you paid for. *Cheep eggs.* And yes I spelled cheep correctly 

My best so far this year, is 84 dozen in one month sold. I had to sell off 1/3 of my laying pullets recently to get control of the situation. No way was my 7 customers keeping up with me.


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## Pyrpup2016 (Sep 11, 2016)

I sell mine for $4 a doz - and have seen someone advertising eggs for $6. These are all natural, cage free etc. Mine are fed awfully well - I buy greens for them all winter, BOSS, and lots of extras. My customers, some gourmet cooks, all say my eggs are "special". From a sellers standpoint, I'm a happy camper! Also making lots of custards, quiches etc.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Here Free Range Brown Eggs at the store is .75 a Dozen.

We had 10 Dozen Eggs gave to us the other day. So yes we get them pretty cheap.

big rockpile


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

No problem selling my farm eggs for $3.00/dozen. People are paying for firm, orange yolked eggs from hens living in fresh air eating plenty of high pro alfalfa. The eggs are never more than 3 days from laid - picked religiously 2x/day to ensure freshness and quick refrigeration. I'd NEVER risk my reputation by selling eggs I personally couldn't guarantee from hen to fridge.

Aldi's eggs are probably just fine to eat, but I know I greatly prefer my own farm eggs for taste and freshness, and so do a lot of my neighbors. I leave eggs in the cooler and they leave me money. Win/win.


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## spud (Feb 3, 2007)

Why would anyone want 99 cent eggs? People value and pay more for quality clothes, cars, alcohol, etc and don't desire to pay more for food? We are a culture that for the most part, don't want to pay more for higher quality foods. What's the nutritional value of cheap eggs? Bet ya it sucks and if someone doesn't care or value then who needs em? Many a study out there comparing the nutritional content of eggs raised in different manners and those raised in on quality feedstocks and pasture have much more vitamins and minerals than commercial varieties. Maybe a data sheet to show customers the difference in nutritional content might help or might not for some, but we should comparing our products on price and instead on the nutritional content.


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## April Angnos (May 13, 2017)

In Portland colored eggs sell for $6 a dozen because people think they are special.


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## mmoetc (Oct 9, 2012)

April Angnos said:


> In Portland colored eggs sell for $6 a dozen because people think they are special.


From what I've read people in Portland do a lot of odd things because they think themselves special.


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## April Angnos (May 13, 2017)

That's why I hate Portland!


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I have a couple of customers that will pay me $ 5 a dozen for green / blue eggs.
I also get $ 5 a dozen for brown jumbos and the duck eggs.

I don't question why the green eggs are special to some people. I just sort them
out so I have some ready to sell. My brown egg customers can't understand the
price difference. If I got to put more time in them, price goes up. Works for me


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Aldi again this week, cheap eggs. 54 cents a dozen, no limit posted.

And when I was at the auction Saturday, chicks were 50 cents to $ 1 each.
Unless they were something special. Seems like the egg market and chick
market is flooded.


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## tiffanysgallery (Jan 17, 2015)

IGA eggs 0.89 dozen. Flea Market brown farm eggs $2, seller sold about 1/3 by the end of the day in Bowling Green.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

I keep some hens that lay blue, green and dark brown eggs, just for the "novelty" factor, but still charge $3.00/dozen. I'd say roughly half of a random dozen is colored beyond the usual brown, and if it boosts sales and gives the customers something to talk about, fine with me. Ameraucanas and Marans are pretty decent, efficient layers, and I have no quarrel with keeping them in the flock. In fact, I just made an order for replacement chicks and broilers last week, and included some Ameraucana pullets that I know come from consistent real blue egg laying stock in the group.


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

Vertical integration. They own the breeders, hatchery, brooding barns, layers, feed mills, and processing plants. The birds are owned by the same company for their whole lives so nobody is selling the birds for a profit, unlike beef. We are paying around 60-70 cents per dozen right now. They have been dropping in price recently.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

> What's the nutritional value of cheap eggs?


The very same as the expensive ones. Anything else is pure mental fabrication.
https://wayne.ces.ncsu.edu/2013/05/free-range-or-case-eggs-same-nutritional-value/
http://www.science20.com/science_20...etween_freerange_and_caged_chicken_eggs-82015
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2002334,00.html


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## Morledzep (Jan 13, 2017)

Not exactly. the nutritional value of eggs depends entirely on what the hens eat. If they are fed good quality feed, and allowed to forage naturally the eggs will be more nutritious than eggs from hens that are fed a commercially prepared diet with antibiotics and kept in a barn with no access to sunlight, or fresh air. 

basically healthy eggs come from healthy chickens. And those chickens in commercial egg barns are NOT healthy.


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## krackin (Nov 2, 2014)

True M. Also, try peeling a couple dozen of those cheap eggs then a couple dozen calcium fed farm eggs. 'Nuff said.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

No they will not. The studies have shown your idea to be false.


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## Guest (May 27, 2017)

Let's agree to disagree before this devolves into a fight.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Sammy, if I provide a simple study that says otherwise would you concede the point that eggs can have different nutritional content based on how they are raised?

Notably, it will come from an accredited professor at a well-known state university as well, if that's an acceptable source for you.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

I provided 3 links to studies but no one seems to care to believe them.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Please don't fight about nutritional values. We are not scientists here.
And maybe what is true today, another study tomorrow could change things around.
Just because something is posted online does not mean it is 100 % correct.
There is a lot of variables. If a study only compares 2 groups of hen eggs, that
is a very limited test group to be working with.

I do know that I prefer my own eggs and I can taste the difference versus store eggs.
I also had a customer tell me she could not eat store eggs, that it made her sick.
Yet she tried my eggs and found she could eat them and liked them.
One of my friends who uses a lot of eggs, she likes my eggs the best. She is a
penny pincher and will buy store eggs for baking and mine for eating for breakfast.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Sammy, that's not what I asked about. I wasn't asking about other people, I was asking about you, personally. Does your non-answer mean you would NOT concede the point if I posted studies?

We absolutely should be scientists, or at least acting like them to a certain degree, as in we should view and acknowledge facts as factual and be skeptical of broad statements. If the question is "does a 40c/doz egg have different nutrition than a $3/doz egg" then there's an answer there, and the answer is "it depends on if the the price reflects the quality of care and feed". If the price reflects care and feed quality, the eggs could very well have different nutrition than the 40c egg.

Around here store eggs go from $1.50-$5/doz depending on where you get them. Mine sell for $3, even though they are free-range and also many colors. Lots of people like blue and green eggs, partially because they're pretty, partially because of assuming they have different nutrients than brown eggs, but I don't charge more for them, most farm-bought eggs are $2.50-$5. Store eggs specifically range from $1.50-$3.50 so I'm still cheaper then high-end store bought eggs, but I also do not feed organic. Having said that, everyone I know knows that the labeling laws for eggs mean very little so the store bought "free range organic" eggs are probably comparable to the cheapy $1.50 nutritionally. So nobody buys em. But they'll buy mine.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

In Walmart today. Jumbo eggs, 1 dozen. 84 cents.
Mediums 48 cents, large .54 cents.

Yesterday, I sold more duck eggs than chicken eggs.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

> Does your non-answer mean you would NOT concede the point if I posted studies?


Did you concede the point when I posted studies?


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Sammy, that's not what I asked.  You still haven't answered my question. Can you please answer me? We're grownups here, so we can admit when we are wrong about something, right? So here, I'll even say this;

I will concede that when chickens are fed the same but one is outside in identical stocking density there's little to no difference; (your link)
https://wayne.ces.ncsu.edu/2013/05/free-range-or-case-eggs-same-nutritional-value/
"Identical rearing dietary program were used for both the range and cage pullets, with the only difference being that the ranged pullets had access to range paddocks that had a common hay mixture for North Carolina comprising both warm and cool season forages."


http://www.science20.com/science_20...etween_freerange_and_caged_chicken_eggs-82015
This link (your second link) references the above article.

And I will also concede that;
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2002334,00.html
(your third link)
""We sampled eggs from a number of stores and kept getting the same results over and over. For shoppers, the decision comes down to your ethical and moral choices.""

Store eggs are generally all the same. They all use comparable feeds and practices regardless of price.

Since that is literally what these two articles say. YOUR articles. YOUR articles are accurate in their results. 

Would you concede that mine is accurate and truthful if I post it? I work from home. I got all the time in the world to keep asking.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I found these websites interesting about egg nutrition.

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/store-bought-eggs-vs-farm-fresh-eggs-4/

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...ctually-prevent-heart-disease-and-cancer.aspx


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

No sources.  I always have concerns when something doesn't show sources, preferably ones that link directly to the study in question or at least to the organization's report on the study. (A problem that the TIMES article above has in addition, no sources linked to the actual study and it's methodology! Scientific literacy and accuracy matters! Luckily the article interviews state their methodology.) For that reason, I don't like citing the Mother Earth News study on free-range eggs because they don't actually show the paper results of the study and actual measurements, they just make broad generalizing statements and say what they claim to have discovered.
Having said that, the information in that blog post meshes with what I have read in genuine research papers and (presuming it's accurate) the MoEa news study as well.  That's why I don't care what I buy when I'm at the store much but I feel confident buying from real people where I can see how the birds are raised. I do try to buy organic when I can because even though it's a highly flawed system I feel like it is a step in the right direction. The organic eggs at our grocery are usually the $3-ish ones. Ones from farm stands and stuff hit $4 regularly. It's only fancy colors that hit $5 typically.

I should note, about colored eggs being pricier, they're pretty much the same. But one time Martha Stewart said that blue eggs were healthier and that sort of thing lingers. That's part of why scientific literacy matters.


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## Lookin4GoodLife (Oct 14, 2013)

I thought this was a thread to find out what everybody's selling their eggs for, not to discuss the nutritional content of various types of eggs.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

The question was brought up of do the price of eggs possibly reflect the nutritional content of those eggs. I think that falls into being relevant to the price of eggs.

In any case, Sammy doesn't seem too interested in being scientific literate anyhow.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Price of homestead / farmer eggs. YES.
And price of store eggs. I like to see the comparison.
I am always amazed how my customers would rather buy mine, no matter the store cost.
They like that the birds can free range half the day and I treat them good.
One of my customers says mine are as close to organic as she can get without buying eggs
with a organic label. I can't afford to feed organic. We do not use any chemicals, or sprays,


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Yeah, store eggs are all pretty comparable regardless of price. That's because there's not a big difference between how the chickens are kept/raised/fed regardless of what's on the label. By the time you hit enough production to sell to major grocery chains it all kinda blurs together.
But when it comes to eggs outside of stores, price can reflect care and feed. Care and feed can reflect nutrition.  There's been some really great university studies done on it.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

I have no dog in this fight. Nutrition or not, our free ranged eggs are better tasting than the store eggs. The yolks are twice the size and a much darker orange color. DOes that translate into nutrition? I'd like to think so, but the taste is what is important to my family and egg customers.

Are my Tomatoes more nutritionally dense than the store bought ones? I have no idea, but mine sure taste better.

Taste in and of itself has value. Regardless of the produce/product being supplied. Tastes better, it costs more.


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## DoubleAcre (Dec 15, 2014)

http://news.psu.edu/story/166143/20...eggs-pastured-chickens-may-be-more-nutritious

You feed pigs crap and it will be stored in the fat. Feed them something good and they taste better. Why wouldn't the same be true for chicken eggs?

Don't know if it's true but makes sense. I heard a long time ago that a caged chicken has high cholesterol and passes that to the egg. An active free ranging chicken has good cholesterol levels thus healthier eggs. The government turned the phrase free range into a marketing phrase so people think it's free ranged. Sounds right except they only meant that somewhere in the over crowded barn is a door that gives them access to the outside, wether the bird knows it or not. I would bet a lot of "free ranged" chickens never make it outside. Especially not out to good grass and bugs.

I get $3 for chicken and $4 for duck eggs and don't lay enough eggs to keep my customers and my family fed. I agree with my customers that they taste better and will not buy eggs at $.69 a dozen. Even if the only difference was taste and not nutrition, we still prefer to support the local farmers. If I'm out of my own pork, I'll gladly pay another local Farm for quality pork before I buy commodity stuff.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

DA, that is, in fact, the study I was planning on posting. (Penn state, qualified professor, good methodology, etc.) But there's no point in posting something like that when people just pick whichever study suits your viewpoint and manipulates the data to make unfounded claims.
Last month I saw people on Craigslist advertising their eggs for $6 a dozen. They had a mixed breed basket of colorful eggs, claiming their eggs were better than dying your easter eggs with poisonous chemicals. Not that there's anything poisonous about most home-accessible food dyes at all. But I bet they sold quite the bundle of them making false claims like that. Always makes me mad. It gives science, and people concerned about genuine health, a bad name.


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## DoubleAcre (Dec 15, 2014)

Agreed.

Someone on this forum posted a while ago his thoughts on science and food. He said that science seems to be always changing its mind. He said I'll stick to eating what comes off my Farm and I'm pretty sure I'll be OK.

I'll 2nd that.


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## Jamie Sadler (Apr 19, 2017)

I sell mine for $5 a dozen for brown and green/blue eggs. I could easily 7-10 but I usually just sell to neighbors and friends. My hens free range. I am never able to keep up with requests for eggs. Store bought free range brown eggs are usually 3-5 a doz depending on who is having a sale.


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## flydelsolsi (Jan 4, 2010)

I work for an egg company that supplies eggs to Aldi stores among others. 

Our farms need about $1.05 per dozen to break even on commodity white. Below this, they are losing money. All commodity egg producers have been losing money for the past year, and it has drove many out of business. Unfortunately many more need to go bankrupt to correct the market. 

The cause of this, as mentioned, was the avian flu outbreak two years ago. This drove prices up, and make bakeries aware of an uncertainty in their supply chain. No large company likes uncertainty and variability in their supply chain, so they moved away from eggs to other chemical replacements. This is likely a permanent shift and the egg market will not reach those prices for a long time to come.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

flydelsolsi said:


> I work for an egg company that supplies eggs to Aldi stores among others. Our farms need about $1.05 per dozen to break even on commodity white. Below this, they are losing money. All commodity egg producers have been losing money for the past year, and it has drove many out of business. Unfortunately many more need to go bankrupt to correct the market. The cause of this, as mentioned, was the avian flu outbreak two years ago. This drove prices up, and make bakeries aware of an uncertainty in their supply chain. No large company likes uncertainty and variability in their supply chain, so they moved away from eggs to other chemical replacements. This is likely a permanent shift and the egg market will not reach those prices for a long time to come.


Thank you for your post.
Law of supply and demand at work.
So when and if a big egg producer goes out of business, it has a ripple effect in their local economy. Not good.
People may love low store egg prices, but they need to look at the bigger picture.


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## flydelsolsi (Jan 4, 2010)

Unfortunately a lot of the large producers will make it through. It is the small family farms that will go under from this. They don't have access to the resources the large corporations do.


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

flydelsolsi said:


> I work for an egg company that supplies eggs to Aldi stores among others.
> 
> Our farms need about $1.05 per dozen to break even on commodity white. Below this, they are losing money. All commodity egg producers have been losing money for the past year, and it has drove many out of business. Unfortunately many more need to go bankrupt to correct the market.


So it's _not_ the grocery stores that are taking the loss on these <$1.00 cartons of eggs, as is often assumed?


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

aart said:


> So it's _not_ the grocery stores that are taking the loss on these <$1.00 cartons of eggs, as is often assumed?


I got friends that manage/work at grocery stores, They say they loose on some things(usually a limit)---as a calling card to get customers in the store with hopes the customer buys other things at a profit for them. So "both" might be loosing at times.


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

Fire-Man said:


> I got friends that manage/work at grocery stores, They say they loose on some things(usually a limit)---as a calling card to get customers in the store with hopes the customer buys other things at a profit for them. So "both" might be loosing at times.


We'll probably never really know all the numbers of all the steps between growers and customers.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

flydelsolsi said:


> Unfortunately a lot of the large producers will make it through. It is the small family farms that will go under from this. They don't have access to the resources the large corporations do.


That sounds like a bunch of class envy to me.
A large corporation that loses a nickel on a million dozen eggs will eventually close. A family farm that is selling $2.00 a dozen eggs will continue to lose 50 cents a dozen without harm to the farm.
Every large egg producing factory knows their break even point, down to the penny. Most family "Fresh Brown Eggs $2.00" producers either don't know their break even number or seriously overlook real costs.
What we are seeing is a rebound in the market from the big killing due to HPAI. The industry tried to grab those higher prices when production dropped, put too many birds into production. HPAI subsided and now there are too many hens. It will return to normal. Farming is like that. Corn prices go up due to increased export demand and alcohol production and farmers plow under hay land to plant corn. This gluts the corn market, prices drop. Meanwhile, the hay shortage drives up hay prices. The government tries to stabilize these price swings with crop insurance and planting loans based on minimum crop values at harvest.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

I spoke with the manager of a local grocery near us last week. He was telling me that even at the cheap prices for the eggs, they are not selling all of their stock. In fact they are selling less of the cheap eggs now than ever before, but more of the "cage free" eggs. Overall though, egg sales are lowest they've been for them.

I thought that was interesting. I would have thought more egg sales at those prices. Good protein at such a cheap price. I might start feeding the chickens eggs instead of grain. lol


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

Yellowsnow said:


> I spoke with the manager of a local grocery near us last week. He was telling me that even at the cheap prices for the eggs, they are not selling all of their stock. In fact they are selling less of the cheap eggs now than ever before, but more of the "cage free" eggs. Overall though, egg sales are lowest they've been for them.
> 
> I thought that was interesting. I would have thought more egg sales at those prices. Good protein at such a cheap price. I might start feeding the chickens eggs instead of grain. lol


Meat is relatively cheap right now. I'd think egg consumption would go up as meat consumption goes down.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

Alder said:


> Meat is relatively cheap right now. I'd think egg consumption would go up as meat consumption goes down.


Which meat and where in the country? Chicken and pork was "On Sale" in bulk packs for $2.49/lb and ground beef was $4.89/lb at the same store. That's not cheap to me. Egg's were $.79 a dozen for white medium eggs and $.89 dozen for large.

You may be on to something though.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

The local Aldi store had them for .53 cents a dozen last week. Have not been shopping this week yet.
They do put limits of 6 on eggs and on milk when the price is real low. Maybe that makes people buy more
if they think there is a restriction in place. I do see shoppers buying up to the 6 limit often.
Not sure how many people know that they can freeze eggs. But with low prices, maybe they see no reason to.

I bought a pork loin roast for $ 1.89 a pound at Aldi's last week. That to me is cheap meat and when you buy a loin,
there is no bones to figure in waste. It's all meat.


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## HackingTheHomestead (Jul 1, 2017)

ladytoysdream said:


> I was in Aldi's this morning, and the price of large eggs was 80 cents a dozen.
> No clue what the store is paying the farmer. Don't see how farmers can make ends meet with that kind of money.
> I get $ 3 a dozen year round from my regular customers and they come to me. So what do you get ?


I also shop at Aldi, and the price of a dozen eggs here is $0.55! I mean, I love that my favorite source of protein is so cheap, but surely farmers deserve more money. I would happily pay more! How can eggs be THAT cheap???


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## Guest (Jul 2, 2017)

Someone on Facebook yesterday snapped a photo of the egg display in their Walmart store. Eggs were 20 cents a dozen!
I should have saved that pic, I don't remember which group it was posted in. I think it was Women in Agriculture.


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## Guest (Jul 2, 2017)

I found it. Yes, it was the group Women in Agriculture.


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## HackingTheHomestead (Jul 1, 2017)

ladycat said:


> I found it. Yes, it was the group Women in Agriculture.
> View attachment 60643


WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What state is this in?


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

That's just straight up depressing.
I could feed eggs to my chickens for their meals at that cost and then sell the eggs my hens lay to other people at that price.
Yikes.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

That's nuts. Only the giant corporate egg producers could survive those prices.

I'm betting walmart is losing on the deal though. They purchased too many eggs and have to move them.


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## Guest (Jul 3, 2017)

HackingTheHomestead said:


> WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What state is this in?


I looked at the profile of the lady who posted it, she lives in Liberty Center, Ohio.

ETA: She updated the post. This was at a Walmart in Bowling Green, Ohio.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Wow, that's not actually very far from me.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

An article from Bloomberg about low egg prices:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ts-bigger-flocks-send-egg-price-to-decade-low


*Bring on the Omelets: Bigger Flocks Send Egg Price to Decade-Low*
By
Sydney Maki
June 28, 2017, 6:00 PM CDT


U.S. farmers ramped-up production after bird-flu scare
Market is now ‘drowning’ in egg supplies, analyst says
It doesn’t matter if you like them hard-boiled, scrambled or soaked in heart-clogging hollandaise sauce: when eggs are this cheap, it’s a good time to get cracking.
Supplies in the U.S. have surged so much in recent months that prices are the lowest for this time of year in at least a decade. It will probably take awhile for consumers to eat through the surplus inventory, so the government is predicting egg costs will drop more than any other food group in 2017.








The slump marks a sharp turnaround in the egg business. In 2015, an avian influenza outbreak forced farmers to destroy millions of birds and prices skyrocketed. Eager to take advantage of the rally, producers expanded flocks that were the biggest ever by the end of last year. But demand hasn’t keep pace. While some farms have scaled back in recent months, hens have gotten more productive, keeping the market flush with supply.

(More at site)


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Interesting. I wonder if that means we'll start seeing older eggs at the grocery store then?


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

ChocolateMouse said:


> Interesting. I wonder if that means we'll start seeing older eggs at the grocery store then?


I wondered about that with the low prices a few months ago, checked dates on cartons, can't remember exact numbers but they were pretty damn fresh.
Folks seeing these low prices should look at the dates...would be interesting data.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Interesting video discussing a homesteader who went into numerous grocery stores and discovered the date the eggs are packed into the containers and the "best used by..." dates can sometimes be widely varied. "Fresh eggs" may have been packed weeks or months before you pull them from the shelf to your cart.
When it comes to mill house mass production egg suppliers, no price can justify to me what it costs to raise my own.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

The way I understand it to read the numbers on the carton.
For example, using the number 90 would mean 90 days into the year, roughly 3 months.
That is the date for that box, the eggs went into a carton and got dated.
They could be up to 30 days old at that point.
And they use a best by date on the carton also.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2017)

Walmart here has the eggs for 49 cents a dozen.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Aldi again .53 this week.

I stopped at a chicken farm while running a errand today.
My chickens are going low on egg number currently and I though if I could pick
up some brown eggs, I would be able to maintain my customer base at the market
till my hens pick back up. So I asked how much and she said $ 1 a dozen .
I told her I would like 10 dozen.
So I noticed her walk into her walk in cooler and there was 15 dozen bulk cartons
on the shelves. So I asked how much if I took 15 dozen. She said 50 cents a dozen.
I told her I would take the 15 dozen box full. Please and thank you 
Had a friend with me and she also got a 15 dozen box. Cousin does farmers markets.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

Walmart here has large eggs for $1.18. Local grocery has them for $.83.

the reenactment just ended, and bike week is kicking off, so I'm sure they're keeping prices high because the tourists will buy them.

https://www.walmart.com/store/1537/search?query=eggs


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

ladytoysdream said:


> Aldi again .53 this week.
> 
> I stopped at a chicken farm while running a errand today.
> My chickens are going low on egg number currently and I though if I could pick
> ...


Wait, what.....So you're going to sell your Farmers Market customers egg factory eggs?


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I do NOT do a farmers market. Used to years ago.
This is a different market that I do now.
These are organic brown eggs from a farmer.
They have about 2000 hens. Birds are not in cages. Long building.
I have to have extra eggs to stay ahead of my competition.
My regular customers at home get MY eggs.
The other customers at the show are not consistent regulars.
A few are and they also will get MY eggs.
It's kind of hard to explain.
My competition asked me last week how much I get for eggs and
said he was going to bring some next week ( tomorrow ).
I can't lose any more sales because of him.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Well I only have had to buy the extra eggs 1x.
Won't have to anymore, as I just bought some 1 year old production hens and
for birds in a molt, they are laying very well. Went from 2 dz eggs a day to
just over 5 dz a day. Problem solved


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## Lookin4GoodLife (Oct 14, 2013)

flydelsolsi said:


> This drove prices up, and make bakeries aware of an uncertainty in their supply chain. No large company likes uncertainty and variability in their supply chain, so they moved away from eggs to other chemical replacements.


I can understand not wanting to deal with "uncertainty", but that is surely a shame.  However, I guess that creates another selling point in the market when it becomes the norm, then some bakeries can advertise that they use "real eggs" and demand a premium for their products possibly supplementing their normally slim margins. Just too bad that more and more of the general population's diet is going to "fake" or "chemically infused" foods all the time.


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## Lookin4GoodLife (Oct 14, 2013)

ladycat said:


> Someone on Facebook yesterday snapped a photo of the egg display in their Walmart store. Eggs were 20 cents a dozen!
> I should have saved that pic, I don't remember which group it was posted in. I think it was Women in Agriculture.


Late to the party as usual, but a couple weeks ago, I paid $1.12/gallon for milk and the eggs were $.23/dozen at my local Walmart. West central GA.


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## Lookin4GoodLife (Oct 14, 2013)

aart said:


> Wait, what.....So you're going to sell your Farmers Market customers egg factory eggs?


She said she stopped at a "chicken farm" not an egg factory.  Did sound to me like there was some quality control going on there.


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## Cindy in PA (May 13, 2002)

I had to buy 2 dozen eggs in the last few weeks, as my old ones from May ran out & I have about 2-4 weeks until my new pullets start to lay. I bought expensive, soy free pastured (supposedly) grown relatively locally & their yolks were less orange them my chickens that are kept in a run. Then I bought a store brand of regular brown eggs that were on sale & the shells are thin! Can't wait for my organic soy free eggs to start up again. Don't care how much they cost me to have happy hens. They probably cost me $2.50-3.00 a dozen. I don't understand the "buy the cheapest" product you can mentality. Do you really think you get quality meat for a $1 something a pound or eggs for 50 cents? No thanks.


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## Lookin4GoodLife (Oct 14, 2013)

I did not buy eggs, I bought the milk. I just said the eggs were 23 cents.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

I don't think I could even sell an empty egg carton for $.23. Bet I'd still lose money.


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

Lookin4GoodLife said:


> She said she stopped at a "chicken farm" not an egg factory.


Can be a fine line there


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

aart said:


> Can be a fine line there


Define fine line please.

I stopped ONE time and bought eggs, out of a walk in cooler on the farm.
It was a spur of the moment decision. I bought chickens from this farmer, that same day.
Now those chickens are laying decent and keeping me current. 
( the point I was trying to make was the 50 cents a dozen I paid...CHEAP )
Yesterday I bought 10 pullets at point of lay for $ 6 each. Different breeds.
So I will sell off the Isa Browns I bought from the farmer and go with these
younger pullets.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

A few days ago, I was in Walmart and they had the 3 dozen pack of large white eggs. $ 1.54.
I will be checking Aldi's again, but our local store is building a new store next to the old store
and the parking lot is horrible to get in and out of now.
I am still getting $ 3 a dozen for my eggs that customers come to me for.
I have downsized my number of hens in order to get ready for winter.
It gets real old carrying gallons of water from the house out to the coop in the winter.
I recently just sold some 2 year old hens for $ 10 each. I probably could have kept
them another year. I have a guy who will be giving me about 8 hens next month
that were brand new pullets this spring. He goes south in the winter and easier
for him to give away birds and get 18 week old new ones in the spring.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I'm still tracking egg prices........ 
Aldi's has large white at 54 cents a dozen this week. 
Walmart has 5 dozen large white $ 2.40 a package ( 48 cents a dozen ).
I stood at the display and talked with 2 Amish ladies. The one lady said she has a large family 
and I watched as she put 4 of those 5 dozen size packages in her cart. She said she does a 
lot of baking. I asked her if she bakes to sell and she said no. I was curious how they keep 
eggs and she said in her basement. It is cool down there. 
I am really rethinking keeping standard chickens. A few good female ducks would be the better way to go. Especially in the winter. I have khaki Campbells ducks and they are laying machines. My one hen laid into January last year.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

For winter i use a large 5 gal water fount on a heated base. No frozen waters. I have a pocket hose i hook up inside next to my washer and when i need to fill the fount i run the hose. Fast easy and no frozen water.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

I sell mine for $4.00 a dozen. I never have enough for the demand. People that want farm-fresh are willing to pay for them in my opinion


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Still tracking egg prices.
Walmart has them for 57 cents large white this week.
Aldi's has them for 78 cents.
Milk was cheap. $ 1.51 a gallon for skim.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Milk $4.10


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## Lookin4GoodLife (Oct 14, 2013)

Last I looked, our eggs were running 27 cents a dozen at Walmart I believe. I don't always check it since I have chickens. Milk for the last several weeks at our Walmart has been $1.08/gallon for whole, 2% or skim. That's not much more than a gallon of WATER! I don't see how the big companies can sell for that at all, but I sure feel sorry for the little guys just trying to get by.


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## 360Media (Nov 22, 2017)

Lookin4GoodLife said:


> Last I looked, our eggs were running 27 cents a dozen at Walmart I believe. I don't always check it since I have chickens. Milk for the last several weeks at our Walmart has been $1.08/gallon for whole, 2% or skim. That's not much more than a gallon of WATER! I don't see how the big companies can sell for that at all, but I sure feel sorry for the little guys just trying to get by.


$1.08/gallon. Your Walmart must have a time machine to the past. I haven’t seen milk that cheap in a decade. Recently, I’ve started buying Walmart’s organic milk. It expensive, $4.79/gallon. But the very weird thing about their organic milk, which I like, is the expiry. That stuff has a 65 day expiration, and it’s organic. Not sure if that has something to do with the white jug or what, but it’s seems pretty beneficial.


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2017)

360Media said:


> But the very weird thing about their organic milk, which I like, is the expiry. That stuff has a 65 day expiration


That's because it's ultra-pasteurized, which pretty much destroys many of the nutrients.


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## 360Media (Nov 22, 2017)

ladycat said:


> That's because it's ultra-pasteurized, which pretty much destroys many of the nutrients.


I was hoping somebody might enlighten me. Many thanks!


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## sniper69 (Sep 23, 2007)

360Media said:


> $1.08/gallon. Your Walmart must have a time machine to the past. I haven’t seen milk that cheap in a decade. Recently, I’ve started buying Walmart’s organic milk. It expensive, $4.79/gallon. But the very weird thing about their organic milk, which I like, is the expiry. That stuff has a 65 day expiration, and it’s organic. Not sure if that has something to do with the white jug or what, but it’s seems pretty beneficial.


Here is a pic from August, but milk at our local Krogers has been selling for .99 cents a gallon since May of this year. Part of it is that they are in a price war with the local Walmart and Meijer. IF I go to any other Krogers in the area it is $1.19 to $1.99 (depending on where it is located). So I get my milk from the store that sells it cheap.









White eggs are .49 cents a dozen in the three local stores that are having their price wars and have been since April or May.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

So with the low prices for eggs and milk.
Not sure if the farmer is taking a beating or the middle man or the store using them as loss leaders.


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## sniper69 (Sep 23, 2007)

ladytoysdream said:


> So with the low prices for eggs and milk.
> Not sure if the farmer is taking a beating or the middle man or the store using them as loss leaders.


Loss leaders definitely, at least for my area - as the super low prices for eggs and milk are part of "price wars". As another note I find it ironic that in the past month or so I read about a butter shortage in France and yet we are buying butter at $2.50 a pound or less on sale (I bought land o' lakes European style butter for $2.49/lb about two weeks ago). Another loss leader item.

I think that the small dairy's (i.e. bottlers)are taking a bigger hit than the bigger dairy's. But when Kroger and Meijer own their own Dairy's (MI and OH if I remember correctly) - it is easier for them to sell milk at a loss in their stores.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I was at Aldi's today again. Our new Aldi opens tomorrow and I did not want to be part of the zoo.
Eggs were $ 1.15 a dozen.
Sign underneath said, " Due to rising market conditions, our price has changed.
Sorry for any inconvenience. "

I found that really interesting..........
That's a big jump in less than week.


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## Lookin4GoodLife (Oct 14, 2013)

360Media said:


> $1.08/gallon. Your Walmart must have a time machine to the past. I haven’t seen milk that cheap in a decade. Recently, I’ve started buying Walmart’s organic milk. It expensive, $4.79/gallon. But the very weird thing about their organic milk, which I like, is the expiry. That stuff has a 65 day expiration, and it’s organic. Not sure if that has something to do with the white jug or what, but it’s seems pretty beneficial.


It's been that cheap for quite a while now. It slowly worked it's way down through the $1.xx for about as long as I can remember now and it's been right over a dollar for at least 2-3 months now. Ladycat's probably right about the pasteurization because Mayfield's comes in a yellow jug and they just have a "regular" date on that one.


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## Lookin4GoodLife (Oct 14, 2013)

sniper69 said:


> Here is a pic from August, but milk at our local Krogers has been selling for .99 cents a gallon since May of this year. Part of it is that they are in a price war with the local Walmart and Meijer.


Wow. For y'all that are up North, do the prices rise any during the winter months? Was just curious if transportation costs rose during the winter and that caused an increase. Just bought egg cartons on sale at TSC last week for a quarter a piece...... had been considering just buying eggs and throwing them in the compost pile for the cartons because that's cheaper than buying cartons now, especially if you order them and have to pay shipping.


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## 360Media (Nov 22, 2017)

Lookin4GoodLife said:


> It's been that cheap for quite a while now. It slowly worked it's way down through the $1.xx for about as long as I can remember now and it's been right over a dollar for at least 2-3 months now. Ladycat's probably right about the pasteurization because Mayfield's comes in a yellow jug and they just have a "regular" date on that one.


Thanks L4GL


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Large-Grade-AA-Eggs-12-ct/145051970

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Reduced-Fat-2-Milk-1-gal/10450115

$1.58 for eggs and $3.59 for milk. PA is a pretty big Dairy state, lots of dairy's in the area, and milk is that price here. It's more expensive where we shop as we do not shop walmart.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I priced eggs at Aldi's today.
White large are $ 1.29 a dozen.
Brown large cage free are $ 2.99 a dozen.
So brown eggs continue to be priced higher than white.


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## proutdoors (Dec 24, 2016)

haypoint said:


> I found it interesting that in research with MSU, cage free hens have higher death rates than those kept in cages. Seems it would be the other way around.


I ran a feed mill for a large layer operation several years back. They decided to convert 3 of their coops into cage free organic. The mortality rates were almost double in the cage free coops as those in the caged coops. This is mostly due to hens will huddle up whenever a human enters the building. Once they separate you'll find dead hens on the floor. Another cause of mortality is having 80,000 hens bumping into each other and having to see who is boss. Lots of injured birds in cage free coops. They also live in much dirtier and unhealthy environments than the cages hens do. 

Disclaimer: I am NOT a fan of caged animal farming! I am merely giving an account of my personal experience in such operations. IN fact, it was due to my employment at that operation that I changed my practices on how I raise not only chickens, but also pigs, sheep, cattle, and other livestock.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

proutdoors said:


> I ran a feed mill for a large layer operation several years back. They decided to convert 3 of their coops into cage free organic. The mortality rates were almost double in the cage free coops as those in the caged coops. This is mostly due to hens will huddle up whenever a human enters the building. Once they separate you'll find dead hens on the floor. Another cause of mortality is having 80,000 hens bumping into each other and having to see who is boss. Lots of injured birds in cage free coops. They also live in much dirtier and unhealthy environments than the cages hens do.
> 
> Disclaimer: I am NOT a fan of caged animal farming! I am merely giving an account of my personal experience in such operations. IN fact, it was due to my employment at that operation that I changed my practices on how I raise not only chickens, but also pigs, sheep, cattle, and other livestock.


I am not a fan of many practices I discuss on HT. But I do want people to know the truth and that there is another side to most things. Things are not always better because people imagine things to be a certain way.
Caged hens have higher survival rates than cage free. Free range hens have greater exposure to diseases than commercial operations. The survival rate of baby pigs is higher when the sow is placed in farrowing crates rather than straw beds. Raw milk does not have more vitamins or minerals than pasteurized milk. Roundup Ready GMO crops reduce the amount of insecticides and toxic herbicides used while saving tons of top soil per acre over conventional agricultural methods.
I want you to have dominion over your land and livestock in a way that suits you best. But I want you to make your decisions based on a broad spectrum of facts, not some kook with a web site and a book to sell.


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## proutdoors (Dec 24, 2016)

Sorry haypoint, but you are misinformed on raw milk versus pasteurized milk, GMO crops reducing the amount of insecticides and toxic herbicides while saving tons of top soil per acre! I have much to learn on many subjects, but clearly you do as well!


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## sniper69 (Sep 23, 2007)

Lookin4GoodLife said:


> Wow. For y'all that are up North, do the prices rise any during the winter months? Was just curious if transportation costs rose during the winter and that caused an increase. Just bought egg cartons on sale at TSC last week for a quarter a piece...... had been considering just buying eggs and throwing them in the compost pile for the cartons because that's cheaper than buying cartons now, especially if you order them and have to pay shipping.


My apologies for the late reply. I noticed that egg prices went up from .49 cents a dozen to $1.49 a dozen at the local kroger - supposedly something about the egg supply chain (must be whereever they get there eggs from). With that said, milk has been staying consistently at .99 cents a gallon (chocolate too) at this kroger location (and at the local walmart). Meijer has put their milk back to $1.59 a gallon, with sale prices of $1.29. I haven't price the local Aldi, but figure the milk prices there are similar (I think there egg prices are under a $1 a dozen, but will try to confirm when I stop by there next). I'm still trying to figure how long the "price war" for milk and eggs is going to last.

With that said, if I go another direction from my house, the kroger there is $1.69 a gallon for milk and wants a $1.79 a dozen for eggs. Other walmarts, meijer, and Kroger stores are similarly priced.

In MI, I have family that says kroger has been selling milk there "on sale" for $1.19 a gallon. But the price will last a week or two and then go back to $1.69 a gallon - then a few weeks later run a "sale again" (they said this has only been over the last month or so). Egg prices there are .89 cents a dozen at Aldi and they told me kroger is selling eggs there for more than a $1 (they didn't recall the exact price when I spoke with them).


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2018)

proutdoors said:


> I ran a feed mill for a large layer operation several years back. They decided to convert 3 of their coops into cage free organic. The mortality rates were almost double in the cage free coops as those in the caged coops.





haypoint said:


> Caged hens have higher survival rates than cage free. Free range hens have greater exposure to diseases than commercial operations. The survival rate of baby pigs is higher when the sow is placed in farrowing crates rather than straw beds.


I would love to see every food animal living it's life out in the fresh air and sunshine. Unfortunately, you can't feed the masses under those conditions.
For indoor operations, battery cages are far superior to "cage free". Cages keep the hens and eggs cleaner, they aren't walking around on a couple feet deep pile of their own manure, and they can't pile up in corners. Conveyor belts keep the manure moved out from under cages, but it just keeps getting deeper in cage free housing. Ammonia is still present with cages, but much less of it. Enriched colony cages are best, in my opinion, since the hens can experience more of just being a chicken, rather than an egg machine. But there's more labor and overhead involved with those, making many egg operators reluctant to change over.

And as for hogs - absolutely they need the farrowing crates. We had a small hog operation when I was a kid, and yes, we had farrowing crates. They were made of lumber and plywood and hog panels, but that's what they were. Without them, we lost most of the babies.

I roll my eyes when people sarcastically ask how animals managed before humans started taking care of them. I usually ignore that question, because it's not a simple answer!

It's true that up through the 1800's in developed countries, and ongoing through today in more primitive cultures, hogs and other farm animals pretty much are left to fend for themselves, and reproduce without our help.

But as animals are more and more domesticated, and bred more and more for high production, they lose more and more of their natural instincts and hardiness, and do need our help. Put them in an unnatural environment, and the problem is further compounded.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2018)

haypoint said:


> Roundup Ready GMO crops reduce the amount of insecticides and toxic herbicides used while saving tons of top soil per acre over conventional agricultural methods.





proutdoors said:


> Sorry haypoint, but you are misinformed on <snip> GMO crops reducing the amount of insecticides and toxic herbicides while saving tons of top soil per acre!


It's a murky subject.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesal...-of-pesticides-and-perhaps-boosted-them-again


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

Well a Egg update in my Grocery store----price increase----no 38 cent no more---the cheapest, which was grade A large, 68cent a dozen. Thought about buying me a dozen and see if I can handle the taste----then sell all the chickens---sure can not grow them for that-----LOL. NAW I will keep my layers.


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## proutdoors (Dec 24, 2016)

ladycat said:


> It's a murky subject.
> https://www.npr.org/sections/thesal...-of-pesticides-and-perhaps-boosted-them-again


Not really.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

ladycat said:


> I would love to see every food animal living it's life out in the fresh air and sunshine. Unfortunately, you can't feed the masses under those conditions.
> For indoor operations, battery cages are far superior to "cage free". Cages keep the hens and eggs cleaner, they aren't walking around on a couple feet deep pile of their own manure, and they can't pile up in corners. Conveyor belts keep the manure moved out from under cages, but it just keeps getting deeper in cage free housing. Ammonia is still present with cages, but much less of it. Enriched colony cages are best, in my opinion, since the hens can experience more of just being a chicken, rather than an egg machine. But there's more labor and overhead involved with those, making many egg operators reluctant to change over.
> 
> And as for hogs - absolutely they need the farrowing crates. We had a small hog operation when I was a kid, and yes, we had farrowing crates. They were made of lumber and plywood and hog panels, but that's what they were. Without them, we lost most of the babies.
> ...


I agree for the most part, but I disagree on the "Feeding the masses" part. I think the masses can be fed if we get the agriculture out of the hands of giant corporations and sleazy bureaucracies. Small farms can and will fill the gap. Food can be grown to feed a local population and excess can be sold in cities. 

The mentality of consumers and people in general are the ones not buying into it. It's faster to run through a grocery store for everything you need than it is to go to a Farmers market or farms to pick up your grocery needs. We're programmed to do things like that quickly because we have to work or pick up the kids. And nobody has to think about their local community instead of that 30 pack and football game.

It can be done, but for some reason is being rejected by the masses. Farmers markets even accept food stamps, but can't get the poor to come because there isn't any soda or frozen dinners to buy.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2018)

Yellowsnow said:


> I agree for the most part, but I disagree on the "Feeding the masses" part. I think the masses can be fed if we get the agriculture out of the hands of giant corporations and sleazy bureaucracies. Small farms can and will fill the gap. Food can be grown to feed a local population and excess can be sold in cities.
> 
> The mentality of consumers and people in general are the ones not buying into it. It's faster to run through a grocery store for everything you need than it is to go to a Farmers market or farms to pick up your grocery needs. We're programmed to do things like that quickly because we have to work or pick up the kids. And nobody has to think about their local community instead of that 30 pack and football game.
> 
> It can be done, but for some reason is being rejected by the masses. Farmers markets even accept food stamps, but can't get the poor to come because there isn't any soda or frozen dinners to buy.


I partly agree with you, and I can take it further.

First of all, there are huge amounts of metropolitan land that isn't being used, but could be. Community gardens are a growing thing, but not growing fast enough. Plus some cities won't allow them.

So, there are gazillions of acres of empty lots and landscaped lawns that could be utilized for vegetable gardens, but aren't. People will spend thousands of dollars making their yards all pretty with flowers and bushes and shrubs, but balk at turning a corner into veggies. There are so many people who *could* grow part of their own food, but won't. Think about it, if even just half of the houses in this country that have yards would grow a small vegetable garden, what an impact it would have!

Second- about Farmer's Markets in cities. 

I lived in the Houston Metro area for several years. It covers 10 counties and over 10,000 square miles, with more than 6M population. It takes several HOURS to drive from one end to the other, solid city all the way. And it's only like the 5th or 6th largest metro in the US.

I've been ALL over that part of Texas, east, west, north, and south of Houston. Once you get out of solid city, you have hundreds of miles in every direction that's fairly densely populated (except going west, which is desert and supports a bunch of goat ranches). It used to be mostly farms and ranches all around that region, now it's mostly people. 

Yes, there are Farmer's Markets, but most of the produce at the Farmer's Markets and at the supermarkets is coming from deep south Texas and Mexico, because those are the closest farm areas.

If +6M people in the Houston Metro area, plus the other few million living in the rest of that part of Texas all decided to buy local, where would it come from? There isn't enough arable land within a couple hundred miles to feed that many people.

And that's just one metro area. Yes, there are masses to feed that can't be fed from local sources.

Things can change, some cities are working on it, more cities need to follow Detroit's lead (as seen here ---> http://www.miufi.org/), but it takes time. Maybe in a few generations, the situation will improve. Maybe not.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

ladycat said:


> I partly agree with you, and I can take it further.
> 
> First of all, there are huge amounts of metropolitan land that isn't being used, but could be. Community gardens are a growing thing, but not growing fast enough. Plus some cities won't allow them.
> 
> ...


Large metro areas may need the modern cafo's and farming practices. And that's ok. I have my disagreements with modern practices, but can see the advantages. 

There are so many small farms in America still. Not all have sold out to housing developments and the "Old Man" is still kicking while his kids can't wait for him to die to sell the land and make it Rich.

I believe that the small farm can feed America. Major metro areas or not. Bankers might feel a pinch with exports, but why export food?


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

I forgot to add...

Your point on the metro farms/gardens is a good one. They are popping up and can spread, but laws in cities are there to protect unions or gov't. 

I hope to see urban farms/gardens spread, chicken laws be wiped out, and in general allow people to produce food where they can.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2018)

Yellowsnow said:


> I hope to see urban farms/gardens spread, chicken laws be wiped out, and in general allow people to produce food where they can.


Speaking of chicken laws, the state of Texas forbids cities to have ordinances against chickens. Cities MUST allow people to have, I think the number is 4 hens minimum per household.

Now, if more states would pass similar bills....


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

ladycat said:


> Speaking of chicken laws, the state of Texas forbids cities to have ordinances against chickens. Cities MUST allow people to have, I think the number is 4 hens minimum per household.
> 
> Now, if more states would pass similar bills....


That's pretty cool and another reason to move to Texas.


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

I buy from a local fellow and and happy to pay him $3.50 per dozen for big beautiful farm-fresh brown eggs.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

proutdoors said:


> Sorry haypoint, but you are misinformed on raw milk versus pasteurized milk, GMO crops reducing the amount of insecticides and toxic herbicides while saving tons of top soil per acre! I have much to learn on many subjects, but clearly you do as well!


Sorry, but I am not misinformed about those topics, but you are in good company, lots of people believe those myths. Google No Till Farming, Roundup and Roundup Ready are key to this soil saving method. For a reduction of insecticides, Google GMO BT corn. Finish that homework and I've got a couple web sites that explain pasteurization https://milk.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000806 and another that answers your GMO misconceptions. https://gmoanswers.com/


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

ladycat said:


> I think the number is 4 hens minimum per household.


You mean people cannot have only 3, they must have at least 4?


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2018)

haypoint said:


> You mean people cannot have only 3, they must have at least 4?


No. I worded that poorly.

Cities have to allow people to have 4 (I think that's the number). In other words, a city can't say people can only have 2, or 3. They have to allow at least that number. A city can allow more than that number if they wish, but they can't stop people from having 4.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2018)

I had the number wrong. It's 6.


Sec. 251.007. SIX CHICKENS ALLOWED. (a) Notwithstanding 
any other law and except as provided by Subsection (b), a political 
subdivision may not impose a governmental requirement that 
prohibits an individual from raising or keeping six or fewer 
chickens in the boundaries of the political subdivision.

From: https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB1620/id/1585712


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## proutdoors (Dec 24, 2016)

haypoint, I am not going to get in a back and forth on something you THINK you are better/more informed on than anyone who disagrees with you. I will admit to having only posted a handful of times on here, but I have been reading threads for a while now. I know what you are, and I won't fall into your trap. I will just say I have been farming my whole life (50 years) and I have a wife with severe health issues which has led me to do THOUSANDS of hours on how to grow healthier food for her. I have no doubt that I have done at least as much research on GMO's and anyone on here............certainly you! I like a good debate, but this forum doesn't seem the format for such as warranted between the two of us. I deal with people like you daily on Facebook and other social media networks. I am truly baffled on how anyone that has spent more than 1 hour researching GMO's believes as you do. Your arrogance surpasses your ignorance on this, which is a heck of a feat! Best of luck to you!


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

proutdoors said:


> haypoint, I am not going to get in a back and forth on something you THINK you are better/more informed on than anyone who disagrees with you. I will admit to having only posted a handful of times on here, but I have been reading threads for a while now. I know what you are, and I won't fall into your trap. I will just say I have been farming my whole life (50 years) and I have a wife with severe health issues which has led me to do THOUSANDS of hours on how to grow healthier food for her. I have no doubt that I have done at least as much research on GMO's and anyone on here............certainly you! I like a good debate, but this forum doesn't seem the format for such as warranted between the two of us. I deal with people like you daily on Facebook and other social media networks. I am truly baffled on how anyone that has spent more than 1 hour researching GMO's believes as you do. Your arrogance surpasses your ignorance on this, which is a heck of a feat! Best of luck to you!


Generally such snippy relies start of with " Not to be insulting, but....." then go on to be insulting. Sort of different when you say you don't want to discuss these topics, won't be specific on a single statement I made, but then go ahead and support your belief. Sorry your wife is sick. I think I'd be grasping at straws if I were in your place, too.

But I don't see how I have been rude to you to deserve this response from you. Perhaps some introspection on your facebook disputes and the trigger to this discussion you jumped in on might be helpful to you.
"I know what you are.", "Your arrogance surpasses your ignorance" are violations. When you get off Dr. Mercola's web site, read Homesteadingtoday's rules.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2018)

No arguing. You've both made your point, now let it rest or I'll have to start deleting posts, and I HATE that.


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## wendlingfarms (Apr 24, 2017)

We give ours away the return is much greater. Always getting cakes, cookies,pies and several dinners a month which are made with the eggs they receive . They feel lucky to receive “free” eggs and I feel lucky to receive all the goodies. The good old bartering system. I do come out in the long run.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

ladycat said:


> No arguing. You've both made your point, now let it rest or I'll have to start deleting posts, and I HATE that.


While you're moderating and maybe deleting, How do I get into the Dark Rooms? I've pm'd whoever is listed to PM for the last year and have never gotten a response. Tried again the other day PM'ing the site bot and a moderator that was on at the time. No response. Can you get me permissions and delete this post after?


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

wendlingfarms said:


> We give ours away the return is much greater. Always getting cakes, cookies,pies and several dinners a month which are made with the eggs they receive . They feel lucky to receive “free” eggs and I feel lucky to receive all the goodies. The good old bartering system. I do come out in the long run.


If more people would slow down and see there is more to life than money...


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## proutdoors (Dec 24, 2016)

Yellowsnow said:


> While you're moderating and maybe deleting, How do I get into the Dark Rooms? I've pm'd whoever is listed to PM for the last year and have never gotten a response. Tried again the other day PM'ing the site bot and a moderator that was on at the time. No response. Can you get me permissions and delete this post after?


I can't even figure out out to send a PM to a moderator.....................


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

Yellowsnow said:


> How do I get into the Dark Rooms?


Ooooo, what are the 'Dark Rooms'?


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

aart said:


> Ooooo, what are the 'Dark Rooms'?


The politics/religion forum on this site. It's private and you need permission to access it.


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2018)

Yellowsnow said:


> While you're moderating and maybe deleting, How do I get into the Dark Rooms? I've pm'd whoever is listed to PM for the last year and have never gotten a response. Tried again the other day PM'ing the site bot and a moderator that was on at the time. No response. Can you get me permissions and delete this post after?


I'm not the one for that, but I'll ask admin to look into it.


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## AnchorRanchFarm (Nov 17, 2016)

Eggs from pasture-raised chickens here in Western Oregon sell for around 6 dollars a dozen. They usually sell out. 
You get what you pay for.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

AnchorRanchFarm said:


> Eggs from pasture-raised chickens here in Western Oregon sell for around 6 dollars a dozen. They usually sell out.
> You get what you pay for.


That's nuts. Here you pay for the same thing at $2/dozen. Organic might get you $4 from the yuppies driving up from D.C. and Baltimore.


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## AnchorRanchFarm (Nov 17, 2016)

Yellowsnow said:


> That's nuts. Here you pay for the same thing at $2/dozen. Organic might get you $4 from the yuppies driving up from D.C. and Baltimore.


No. You do not get the same thing for $2 a dozen. You are misunderstanding the product I am talking about. $2 is above the cost anyone is capable of achieving for eggs from pasture-raised hens. 

I think the issue is that there is a misunderstanding of what “pasture raised” means. There are plenty of people online who explain in detail what goes into producing eggs from laying hens raised on pasture.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

I'm not misunderstanding anything. 

And yes, it is the same product.

Whats that saying about riding a High Horse...


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

AnchorRanchFarm said:


> I think the issue is that there is a misunderstanding of what “pasture raised” means. There are plenty of people online who explain in detail what goes into producing eggs from laying hens raised on pasture.


I think you know what you mean when you say pasture raised, but there is no universal definition that I think you'd accept. The actual established standard is access to outside. Some my think it is access to go outside on grass. You may think something more.
What something is worth is also different for different people.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

We watched a show on tv awhile ago, about a chicken farmer in California, I believe was the location.
Farmer was getting $ 8 a dozen for his eggs. And he had a waiting list of new customers trying to
become one of his regulars.
I know in this area that brown eggs from hens that are cage free go for better money. People
like organic also. lf hens can free range and get to grass, it helps give the yolks a darker orange color.
When I did a farmers market, I was getting $ 4 a mixed size dozen and if I had a lot of eggs and was
able to sort by sizes, I was able to get $ 5 a dozen for jumbo. I get $ 3 for a mixed size dozen now
and they come to me. My customers prefer the brown or green eggs. They might tolerate a white
egg or two per dozen but not a whole dozen , Currently I have no white egg layers for standard hens.

The key is if the eggs are white or brown. White eggs in the store here are still on the cheap side.
Walmart last I knew has a 5 dz pack $ 5.08 for large white.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

ladytoysdream said:


> The key is if the eggs are white or brown


To many consumers it does not matter if the white eggs and the brown eggs are exactly the same inside, they want to see something that sets it apart. As any Chef will tell you, it is all in the presentation. We all want to feel special. Facts don't matter.
I have actually milled around the grocery egg area. Interesting to watch people weigh their choices. Brown or white, Eggland's Best or Vegetarian fed. Then to pick Organic, cage-free or Free Range. So many choices and most people just guess what the words really mean.
Many people buy at a farmers market to show support for the idea of buy local or to donate to the cause of small farms. A person may get $5.00 for a dozen eggs but it is mostly selling an idea, a feeling and funding a cause.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

If I was buying eggs and had no chickens, I would go for the cheapest which is the white.

Some people say they can't tell the difference in taste. I can tell a fresh egg from my coop
by it's taste versus something from the store. There is a difference, at least to me. I don't
eat many eggs but the hubby does. And I know he likes them jumbo brown eggs the best.
If I have a assortment like some bantam eggs, a few big brown eggs and some duck eggs
in the carton we use....then if he has eggs for breakfast, the big browns are gone first.
Then I will use the bantams and the duck eggs for baking.
When I sort the eggs for the day that are laid, I replenish our house carton. It's on
the door and quite easy to keep track of. The eggs get rotated also. I have read it's best
to keep the eggs on the shelves and not the door, but for house eggs, because I
keep good track of them, it has never been a problem.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

This is a small rural neighborhood with a lack of hippies, organic yuppies and rich suburbanites. I tell people my hens are outside in their pen during the day, eat regular Nutrena layer feed, and get plenty of greens and sunshine. It's up to them to describe the eggs using any silly advertising term they like.  My hen's eggs are head and shoulders better tasting and looking than the "pasture raised" or "organic" eggs you can buy in the grocery store for 2X the money. Rules of capitalism apply. If you live in a super high cost-of-living area like western Oregon, and have a market infested with transplanted Californians, you can get $6.00 - $7.00/dozen for eggs. "Normal" people from normal market locales are going to buy cheap white eggs from the grocery store vs. $6.00/dozen for any so-termed "farm" eggs.

I'm sure having brown, dark brown, green and blue eggs helps sales to the neighbors, but I'm still asking $3.00/doz which seems like par around here. The egg color is just icing on the cake far as I'm concerned, and doesn't really cost me anything, but my customers love it. My flock is made up of my Slow White broiler hens (medium brown eggs and great early and dependable layers - giant White Rocks for all intents and purposes), some Ameraucanas (blue) , and Cuckoo Marans (chocolate brown) that get replaced every two years, and hybrids (home incubated) between those two breeds and a Slow White rooster The hybrids are rock-solid vigorous, better layers, large hens, (the "cull" cockerels make NICE fast growing broiler birds) and still lay colored eggs - either green or dark brown respectively. Makes a very colorful carton of eggs.

I'm only selling eggs from a cooler at the end of the driveway to pay for feed to cover my own home use eggs and broilers out of the deal - and it works out very well. No hassle for me selling 6-10 doz./week, happy customers, and I make feed money for the whole flock plus my batch of broilers for the freezer every year. That's profit enough for me.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

This kind of nonsense will either ruin egg consumption or promote $8.00 eggs.


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## Yellowsnow (May 11, 2016)

haypoint said:


> This kind of nonsense will either ruin egg consumption or promote $8.00 eggs.


LOL. Useful idiots...

Using the kids to. That's a shame..


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

Walmart today....48 cents a dozen


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## Mickie3 (Aug 28, 2010)

Walmart today - Large 1.48 dozen


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## bowslinger (Aug 4, 2007)

Eggs at store around here goes for 2.50 a dozen


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## Mickie3 (Aug 28, 2010)

Kroger today - 1.79 for Large


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

18 pack of large was $1---less than 67 cent a dozen.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Large whites at Aldi's was $ 1.28 a dozen, yesterday.
Milk, gallon of skim, was $ 1.57. ( been close to this for awhile now )


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Old thread  Surprised me to see it has been 2 years since I posted a update.

Aldi's large white eggs are $ 1.39 a dozen and milk is $ 2.59 a gallon now.

I am getting eggs from my hens, but when I sold off my big hens, my customers
did not want bantam eggs nor did they want duck eggs.
So I sell a few eggs now, we use some and some get hard boiled and fed
back to the hens. Works for me 
I recently got a dozen big hens , just starting to come into production. Will
probably have to find a few customers to keep up with them.


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## Annie in S.E. Ohio (Jun 17, 2002)

Low prices on store eggs are still around, our nearest Aldi's sells large eggs for under .90 cents most of the time, I'm sure that is a loss leader price to get you in the store though.
When I sold eggs over 5 years ago I charged 2.50 a dozen. My customers liked the orange colored yolks and firm whites, with a taste that no store egg could match. To get that orange yolk and old fashioned taste I fed the hen's about a 5 gallon bucket of grasses from the hayfield every day (had about 20 hen's that were confined to a 24 x 40 chicken house) that I cut with hand shears. When there was no grasses to cut I fed alfalfa pellets, like the kind you'd feed rabbits, and very little commercial grain. Also about a cup of Calf Manna to up the protein content of their feed.
Green feed makes for great tasting eggs, but I'd have to charge more than $5 a dozen today to break even, and not many people would be willing to pay that much for farm eggs.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

I'm not sure what store bought egg prices are here, I don't care to support the commercial egg industry. But we sell eggs for $3.00 or $2.50 for smaller bantam-type eggs. I know local organic stores have them for $4.50.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

the last time I sold eggs, a few years back, I broke about even at $2.5o/doz. that paid for the feed and covered any eggs that i used for myself..
I buy eggs now.
Have no problem if I have to pay $3.oo.
can't always get them in the winter time, so we buy eggs from the Kwik Trip gas station.
IDK how much she pays for those.


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