Why are poultry items so expensive, and in short supply? In a nutshell, significant disruption of secondary essential animal feed inputs from Asia and Europe (vitamins, micronutrients, amino acids) – Crude protein cost increase – Fat tail of avian flu from last year (breeding stock and layers both hit hard) – Inflation – Transportation.
Inflation and supply chain issues explain some of why egg prices have risen. Eggs saw the largest percentage increase of any specific food, according to the consumer price index.
The ongoing bird flu outbreak in the US is now the longest and deadliest on record. More than 57 million birds have been killed by the virus or culled since a year ago, and the deadly disruption has helped propel skyrocketing egg prices and a spike in egg smuggling.
This inflationary picture has been exacerbated by the fresh price shock caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. Input costs – of which feed is the biggest component have already risen by almost 50% in a year.
The ingredients that go into chicken feed include, soya, sunflower meal (a byproduct of sunflower oil), and wheat, all of which have risen in price. In normal times, Ukraine and Russia are major sunflower oil and wheat producers.
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) originated in US Federal law in 2005, and over the past 18 years has caused dramatic ripple effects in both the energy and food production sectors. The volume of corn that has to be converted into Ethanol biofuel to meet RFS goals has gradually increased and strained the food commodity markets. What does this have to do with eggs?
When the RFS began, standard ethanol was made by converting the starch from corn into ethanol. What was left over was called “Distiller’s Grains” and was sold on the US Commodities Markets as a feed product. Millions of tons of wet distiller’s grains went to beef and pork feed lots, and even more millions were dried and sold as a key ingredient in animal feed for virtually all species. If you go to your local feed store and look at any bag of animal feed, the ingredient list will likely start with “Processed Grain By-Products”. This is waste from ethanol production.
Notes: Standard Ethanol strips the starch out of corn. Cellulosic Ethanol is made with an enzyme process that strips the remaining carbohydrate from corn. Bio-Diesel is made by stripping the fat out of corn.
The resulting “Processed Grain By-Products” are lower in volume and the nutritional remnants available to livestock are drastically diminished. Essentially, chickens are now Malnourished.
The biggest nutritional deficiency in feed is crude fat. Dried Distiller’s grains from 3 years ago could be counted on to test at 30% protein and 10% fat. These newer “high protein” coproducts with the fat and cellulose stripped out of them, and potentially substituted with lower cost, lower quality ingredients are simply not getting the job done on the farm.
We now live in the AGE OF THE GREAT STUPID!
Wow, another conspiracy theory. Debunk of course. This is pure BS, soaked up by the highly intelligent likes of Paul Plante.
Editor’s Note: Every time we read one of your comments, we lose brain cells. But hey, keep doing you!
J Wheaton, dude, I have to say that I and many others not only in America, but in the world, and I believe, at least the solar system, if not the entire galaxy, which is how far your popularity has spread, in a relatively short time span, are always so glad and are actually thrilled when you deign to come in here from wherever it is that you are when you are not here, and make one of your periodic appearances, like the so-called GREEN COMET is doing as we speak.
With that said, have you ever given thought to the idea that you yourself might be the living proof that we are indeed fully into the AGE OF THE GREAT STUPID in this country?
Let’s break your argument down. The shortage of eggs is due to the significant disruption of secondary essential animal feed inputs from Asia and Europe
If that were true we would see shortages and higher prices in lamb, beef, and pork and we are not. In fact, egg prices are increasing as chicken prices are coming down. How do you explain if it’s the shortage of feed or its deficiency in the feed? They eat the same feed, don’t they?
Farmers are destroying their flocks not because of high prices for feed but because of the avian flu which is hitting layers harder than broilers.
Sure this won’t see the light of day
Note: From the article, “significant disruption of secondary essential animal feed inputs from Asia and Europe (vitamins, micronutrients, amino acids) – Crude protein cost increase –Fat tail of avian flu from last year (breeding stock and layers both hit hard) – Inflation – Transportation”. This is what people in the industry are saying (including my fam in Bama, which have been in chicken and egg for a long time). The issue is multi-layered, and there is a big difference between broilers and layers, not to mention between, lamb, cattle, goats, pigs.
How can I make my own broiler feed?
Making broilers feed
You will require 110 kg of cracked corn, 68 kg of ground roasted soya beans, 11 kg of rolled oats, 11 kg of alfalfa meal, 11 kg of fish or bone meal, 4.5 kg of calcium powder and 6.8 kg of poultry Nutri-balancer.
This will make about 230 kg of chicken feed.
HOMEMADE WHOLE GRAIN LAYER FEED
INGREDIENTS
19 cups split peas
14 cups hard red wheat
12 cups barley
10 cups millet
8 cups oats
1/2 cup kelp
1/2 cup garlic powder
1/2 cup food grade diatomaceous earth
Feeding the Flock – Penn State Extension
130 pound ewe; Choose one
Pasture, if adequate
3 lbs. of alfalfa or clover hay
3.5 lbs. of grass or mixed hay
150 pound ewe; Choose one
Pasture, if adequate
3.5 lbs. of alfalfa, clover, mixed or grass hay
What is a good grain mix for sheep?
When there is little paddock feed available it may be necessary to introduce sheep to full hand feeding on grain rations.
The fodder chosen should be well priced, readily available, and easy to store and handle.
Some examples include wheat, barley, sorghum, corn and oats.
Ration Formulation for Growing Cattle – Penn State Extension
Diets No. 1-4
Corn (pounds/head) 16.34 20.21 12.15 17.21
Soybeans (pounds/head) 0.59 1.54 2.13 2.01
Corn silage (pounds/head) — — 25.14 12.57
Orchardgrass hay (pounds/head) 7.22 2.41 — —
Limestone (pounds/head) 0.22 0.33 0.28 0.33
Vitamin and mineral (pounds/head) 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
Diet 1 has been formulated to meet the requirements for starting 600-pound Angus-based steers and feeding until finish weight.
Diet 2 has been formulated to meet the requirements for starting 600-pound Angus-based steers and feeding until finish weight.
Like diet 1, this diet utilizes hay, corn, unroasted soybeans, limestone, and a commercial vitamin/mineral premix.
Diet 3 has been formulated to meet the requirements for starting 600-pound Angus-based steers and feeding until finish weight.
This diet assumes feeding corn silage at 40 percent (DM basis) of the diet along with corn, unroasted soybeans, limestone, and a commercial vitamin and mineral mix.
Similar to the previous scenarios, diet 4 has been formulated to meet the requirements for starting 600-pound Angus-based steers and feeding until finish weight.
This diet also utilizes home-raised corn silage, like diet 3.
How do you make a pig feed formulation?
Feed your pigs that are being weaned off of their mother’s milk, a special mix of food until they are about 10 to 12 weeks old.
Then create a feed mix that is comprised of 76 percent corn, 12 percent skim milk powder, 6 percent soybean meal, 6 percent calcium and protein, and also 0.2 percent salt.
Why your chicken and milk prices have shot up – Times of India
Prices of soybean and maize, the two key inputs that are used as livestock feed in the poultry industry, are rising sharply due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Mar 16, 2022
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/russia-ukraine-war-why-your-chicken-and-milk-prices-have-shot-up/articleshow/90253339.cms#:~:text=Prices%20of%20soybean%20and%20maize,conflict%20between%20Russia%20and%20Ukraine.
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CNBC
“Inflation rose 0.5% in January, more than expected and up 6.4% from a year ago”
Jeff Cox
February 14 2023
Egg prices, however, rose 8.5% and are up a stunning 70.1% over the past year.