May 10, 2013

Iowa's egg industry remains to be on top

As the state has about 60 million laying hens, Iowa is considered to be the nation's leader in egg production, according to Lois White, spokeswoman for the Iowa Egg Council.

"We are number-one in the nation," White says. "We lead the nation in egg production, producing close to 15-billion eggs a year. That's almost one out of every five eggs produced in the US." The egg industry generates nearly US$20 million a year in state tax revenue, White says, a figure that's been rising the past several years as the industry grows.

"Part of the reason our production has increased is we have a competitive advantage here, being in Iowa, due to low feed costs," White says. "The feed costs represent about 67% of the cost to produce a dozen eggs." She says a big part of the reason feed costs are so much lower here is that transportation costs are cheaper.

May is National Egg Month, which White says is a time to pay tribute to the industry's dedicated farmers. "The egg industry generates about 8,000 jobs state-wide," White says. "That includes people indirectly that help our industry like the suppliers of feed grains, feed supplements, the veterinarians and utility services."

She says that figure has risen by some 360 jobs in the past five years, thanks to continued growth. The Iowa Egg Council plans to give away 100,000 hard-boiled eggs - on sticks - at this summer's Iowa State Fair.