MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — A recent Facebook post in What's up Waco has sparked the conversation of locals seeing higher egg prices. One screenshot listed the price of 18 eggs as being $6.10. One local farmer said the increase in egg prices can be attributed to the bird flu.
- “The recent bird flu outbreak has significantly affected the egg industry as a whole, leading to reduced supply and increased demand particularly during the holiday season.”
- Our local Drug Emporium gets eggs from Modern Hippie Life Farm L.L.C, A family owned farm, and they’re priced at 6.50 a dozen. At HEB something of comparable value is $6.98, and the normal jumbo grade eggs are $4.96 a dozen.
- Modern Hippie Life Farms said some farms have begun selling their eggs at $10 a dozen, but they will continue to sell theirs for $6 despite rising costs.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"Oh my goodness, it was at Walmart, "Denetrice Wiley, a local McLennan County resident, said. "it was probably 6 dollars."
Americans have begun to see an increase at the grocery store when they add eggs to their basket.
"From what I've seen, the eggs are costly; it doesn't matter if you go to HEB or Walmart," Wiley said.
Our local Drug Emporium gets eggs from Modern Hippie Life FarmL.L.C., a family-owned farm. They're priced at $6.500 a dozen. At HEB, something comparable in value is $6.98, and the regular jumbo eggs are $4.96 a dozen—much higher than locals remember them being years ago.
“Sometimes they were $2 bucks a dozen, the price has increased tremendously,” Wiley said.
Modern Hippie Life Farm says we’re seeing this jump right now. They said in a statement,
“The recent bird flu outbreak has significantly affected the egg industry as a whole, leading to reduced supply and increased demand particularly during the holiday season.”
They also tell me some farms have begun selling their eggs at $10 a dozen, but they will continue to sell theirs for $6 despite rising costs.
25News’ Dominique Leh spoke with one family who tells me, they made the switch from buying eggs every week, to raising their own chickens.
“The cheapest healthiest way to get eggs constantly is going to raise them ourselves, it took a few months to start getting them, but the cost per week is astronomical,” another local resident James Tolman said.
But for many of us who don’t raise our own chicken, we don’t have much of a choice.
“We’re going to buy them anyway,” local resident, Sharon Reed said.
A few folks I talked to today tell me they’ve actually made the switch from buying eggs ins tore to buying from local for health and financial reasons.
Modern Hippie Life Farm tells me they’re keeping their costs low because they grow everything they feed their chickens.
Modern Hippie Life farm full statement,
"As a small, family-owned farm, we strive to provide high-quality, fresh eggs to our local community. The rising costs of essential inputs, such as feed, electricity, and supplements, have undoubtedly impacted our operations. We've implemented measures to mitigate these increases, including careful resource management and efficient farming practices.
However, the recent bird flu outbreak has significantly affected the egg industry as a whole, leading to reduced supply and increased demand, particularly during the holiday season. This has further contributed to price fluctuations in the market.
Despite these challenges, we remain committed to our mission of providing healthy, happy hens with delicious eggs. We will continue to work diligently to maintain our prices while ensuring the well-being of our flock and the satisfaction of our customers. At the moment our eggs can be found delivered fresh to Drug Emporium in Waco Tx."
