U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a “$1 billion-dollar comprehensive strategy” to tackle soaring egg prices in the United States.

“U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today announced a $1 billion-dollar comprehensive strategy to curb highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), protect the U.S. poultry industry, and lower egg prices. This is in addition to funding already being provided to indemnify growers for depopulated flocks,” the USDA stated.

“As the Secretary detailed in the Wall Street Journal, the five-pronged strategy includes an additional $500 million for biosecurity measures, $400 million in financial relief for affected farmers, and $100 million for vaccine research, action to reduce regulatory burdens, and exploring temporary import options,” it added.

“The Biden administration did little to address the repeated outbreaks and high egg prices that followed. By contrast, the Trump administration is taking the issue seriously,” Rollins wrote.

“American farmers need relief, and American consumers need affordable food. To every family struggling to buy eggs: We hear you, we’re fighting for you, and help is on the way,” she added.

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From the Associated Press:

The USDA now predicts the cost of eggs will go up 41.1% this year. Just last month, the increase was predicted to be 20%.

And the average prices conceal just how bad the situation is, with consumers paying more than a dollar per egg — over $12 a dozen — in some places.

Prices have more than doubled since before the outbreak began, costing consumers at least $1.4 billion last year, according to an estimate by agricultural economists at the University of Arkansas. Restaurants like Denny’s and Waffle House started adding surcharges to egg dishes.

Egg prices also normally increase every spring heading into Easter when demand is high.

Rollins acknowledged that it will take some time before consumers see an effect at the checkout counter. It takes infected farms months to dispose of the carcasses, sanitize their farms and raise new birds. But she expressed optimism that the plan will help prices.

“It’s going to take a while to get through, I think in the next month or two, but hopefully by summer,” Rollins said.

CoBank analyst Brian Earnest said he appreciates the Trump administration’s fresh look at the problem, but “I don’t see a whole lot here that is a big change here from the current plan of action.”

Major trade groups in the egg, chicken, turkey and dairy industries largely praised the plan. American Egg Board President Emily Metz said she is encouraged the administration wants to find the best response through a combination of biosecurity and exploring vaccine development.

Forbes reports:

Rollins also said the Department of Agriculture will work to remove “unnecessary regulatory burdens on egg producers where possible” and explore “temporary import options” to address the high prices in the short term—adding that while the strategy “won’t erase the problem overnight,” the USDA is “confident that it will restore stability to the egg market over the next three to six months.”

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Denny’s confirmed to Bloomberg some of its restaurants would temporarily add a surcharge to dishes with eggs because of the supply crunch and increased prices of eggs across the country, though it declined to comment on which locations will have the fee and said fees will vary by region and location; Denny’s did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.

An order from the Nevada Department of Agriculture took effect suspending the state’s cage-free egg law that passed in 2021, meaning eggs “sourced from any egg producer meeting food-safety guidelines, regardless of whether the eggs originated from hens in a cage-free housing system” can be sold in the state.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo approved a bill allowing the state to temporarily suspend cage-free egg laws in an effort to address high egg prices and the strain on supply.

Egg prices increased 15.2% from December to January, according to the Consumer Price Index, and the average cost of one dozen Grade A large eggs in December across the U.S. was $4.95—up slightly from $4.15 in December.

 

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