The price of eggs seems to be a favorite topic in political speeches lately, offered as proof that inflation is simply caused by bad policy decisions made by the party in power. What’s missing from this rhetoric is that while egg prices have risen, these price increases have not been caused by by governmental policies, but by the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu virus that has killed nearly 101 million egg laying hens in the U.S. since January 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With that many laying hens lost to the virus, egg production hasn’t been able to keep up with consumer demand. So the cause of high prices is the old law of supply and demand.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been busy recently. Last week, the agency announced a series of steps aimed at increasing market competition and lowering food prices. Those steps include establishing a framework for seed competition, providing access to a new retail report and writing an executive order to address issues in livestock markets. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that the announcements are part of a broader effort of the Biden-Harris administration to help farmers, small businesses and rural communities “get a fair shake.” He went on to add, “Our work on competition is about opening up new markets for farmers and delivering fairer, more competitive choices. Today’s actions will help to deliver on more choice and lower costs for seeds used by farmers, more choice and lower food costs for consumers, and a fairer marketplace for ranchers.” In an interim report titled “Competition and Fair Practices in Meat Merchandising.” USDA economists used beef markets as a case study to better understand access to retail dynamics for producers and processors. The report notes trends of increased market concentration nationally and regionally, particularly among the top four packers, distributors and retailers. USDA plans to continue its investigative study and will likely issue new rules in the coming months. Finally, the agency announced that it is investing $1.7 billion in food assistance. Approximately $1.2 billion will be used to help schools and other childcare facilities purchase locally sourced food. The remaining $500 million is devoted to purchasing domestic commodities for emergency food providers. Both investments will be funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation.
Although Congress adjourned in September until after the November elections, last week more than 30 senators and representatives from states affected by Hurricane Helene called on party leaders to bring Congress back and pass additional funding to help producers who have suffered “catastrophic losses.” They contend that additional funding is needed as soon as possible to prevent “deep and lasting economic damage to the agriculture industry.” On October 6th House Speaker Mike Johnson said he did not intend to call Congress back early to provide more funding.
Some good news for cattle producers. The USDA is projecting a larger domestic hay crop in 2024, with total U.S. hay production estimated to be almost seventy four and a half million tons, an increase of 8% over 2023 production, which should provide favorable hay prices to cattlemen. The average hay yield was just over two tons per acre on almost 36 million acres.
Former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Charles Evans Hughes wrote, “If we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.”.
