Why are the cost of eggs going back to down?

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Officials say the avian flu is in farmers’ rearview mirrors as chickens are healthy, and they can start to sell more eggs.

If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you know egg prices are now back to normal. An avian flu outbreak starting in February caused egg and chicken production issues through March and April.

An estimated 58 million birds were infected this last year, impacting several billion dollars in losses. Now, farmers have had the time to recuperate their flocks, and those costs have calmed down quite a bit.

With the market bouncing back, some might expect farmers to hold some resentment towards those that entered the egg arena during peak flu season, but our “eggspert” with the K-State extension office says it was the opposite.

“They’re glad that we got that supply, where we can get those prices down,” Leroy Russell, K-State extension office agriculture expert said. “The farmers weren’t making any either if they had to put their whole flock down. It was very expensive that way, they like to be productive and get food out to our people.”

Leroy adds it could take months or even years for farmers to recover from losing members of their flock. That timeframe depends on where their chicken facility was built, and how much disinfectant work needs to be done.

The expert tells 27 News even though the prices are down, we’re not completely out of the woods yet. At any point, avian flu can spike back up and the price of eggs along with it.