This special September edition of EGG-NEWS is sponsored by Big Dutchman for the benefit of subscribers. Updated industry statistics and cost data are included in the relevant articles suggesting future trends in production, domestic production and trade.

This month Big Dutchman features the EggTrax module designed to achieve gentle transfer from collecting belts to either conveyors or elevators. Currently a standard for new systems, EggTrax could provide a beneficial ROI as a retrofit to existing installations through averting shell damage.

The re-emergence of HPAI is of concern and may invalidate USDA predictions for availability and retail prices through 2026. As we enter the fifth year of the H5N1 epornitic there is no indication of a change in USDA-APHIS policy on control that appears to be “more of the same”. Preventive vaccination as an adjunct to biosecurity in high-risk areas for egg-production flocks and turkeys does not appear to be a consideration based on the opposition of the broiler sector concerned over the questionable impact on trade. This intransigence fails to take into account the immense cost of outbreaks borne by the USDA, drawing funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation, losses experienced by producers through unearned revenue and above all to consumers required to pay more for their eggs and products, possibly approaching $15 Billion in 2024 and higher during the current year. Policy should be guided by economic reality and established science not the reverse.