'Prices are bananas’: Soaring egg prices cause trickle down effects

GILLETTE — Grab. Crack. Cook.
 
At one time or another, many across the country could attest to the morning routine that began with the very same motions. A person grabs a carton of eggs from the fridge, selects the nearest two or three from the cardboard or styrofoam container and cracks the eggs into the butter or oil that simmers readily in a skillet atop the stove.
 
With a little sprinkle of salt and pepper and the swift motion of a well-used spatula, voila, breakfast was served.
 
For a long time, the routine could have been muscle memory with no thought to the cost of the cheap ingredients needed to start the day. 
 
Now, that routine brings many throughout the country an anguished thought of the cost that came with it or a reminder of what is being cut out in order to keep eggs in.
 
The cost of a carton of eggs, now the basis for humorous memes, TikTok videos or Facebook posts, also gives reason for concern to those trying to keep businesses afloat or classic staples on the menu. Once a cheap form of Omega-3 and protein, prices for a dozen eggs increased by more than 100% last year.
 
The soaring prices come in part due to the aftermath of the avian flu, which resulted in more than 58 million birds killed in 2022, more than 43 million of which were egg-laying chickens, according to Associated Press reports. 
 
Demand and costs for the product have also impacted suppliers and customers in Gillette as they go about their daily routine.
 
Every day, Bill Belmont walks with his green wire baskets to collect eggs from his more than 200 laying hens on Heptner Road in Rozet. He normally picks up about 50 eggs at a time and pulls in about 200 a day, but at this point, he said that isn’t nearly enough for everyone who wants them.
 
“Demand for eggs has gone way up, I can tell you that,” he said. “I get about 200 eggs a day. If I got 10,000 eggs a day that wouldn’t be enough right now. Sometimes (customers) would be waiting in the driveway.”
Belmont said the inflated cost of chicken feed and an increased price in cartons are some factors typical egg eaters don’t take into consideration when they’re looking at the price hike in front of them.
 
Now a vendor in Gillette’s downtown Urban Basket, Belmont said the owners Candace and Kevin Crimm often sell out of the eggs he brings in on any given day by noon. On Saturday at about 2:30 p.m. a few cartons were still available in the fridge on Gillette Avenue, a surprise to customers and Kevin.
 
“To still have eggs at this time of day, that’s irregular,” he said.
 
A week before, Candace said the business goes through 48 dozen eggs provided by Belmont each week. 
 
She also has a few other vendors who are “donating to the cause” and bringing in another combined 12-15 dozen for locals searching for farm fresh eggs.
 
When other grocery stores in town were running out of eggs, the couple said they had to try to ration the cartons to make sure the highest number of customers who came into the business could receive them.
In the winter, egg supply also drops because hens like to stay warm. Last week, Belmont said he was almost back to normal from the cold spell that hit in December.
 
“Chickens lay pretty good if you keep them fat and happy and their feet dry,” he said. “But the laying does slow down for a little while in the winter.”
 
Thanks to other vendors, the Crimms also offer goose eggs at the store. The bigger eggs are equivalent to about three chicken eggs, Candace said, and are particularly good for baking.
 
A dozen chicken eggs at the business costs $5, about the same as prices seen across Gillette that run anywhere from $4 to $6 per dozen. The prices in town are similar to those seen across the nation.
 
In January 2022, consumers bought a dozen eggs for $1.92 per dozen. By December 2022, that number jumped to $4.25 per dozen, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that egg prices rose by 11% in December, rising more than 60% over prices in December 2021.
 
The report projected that prices will continue to rise this year.
 
Despite the prices, Chance Yanzick continues to buy eggs as part of his morning routine. At 4:30 a.m., he scrambles anywhere from four to six eggs to build muscle and jam-pack protein, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t noticed the uptick in cost.
 
“The prices are bananas,” he said.
 
Last year about this time, he specifically remembers noting the price of five dozen eggs — $7.94. Now, it’s anywhere from $20-$30 depending on the store.
 
To account for the rising price, Yanzick stopped buying protein bars, granola, fruit snacks and snacks in general.
 
Momma Johna’s Cakes downtown hasn’t had the same luxury in being able to cut back on staple ingredients. Besides eggs, owner Johna Mason said the surging prices in butter and heavy cream also have impacted the cost of her trademark cupcakes and cakes.
 
The shop uses at least 15 dozen eggs a week, and during events like graduation that number can double as she prepares more than 40 cakes and 1,500 cupcakes in a couple of weeks. In the 13 years she’s been in the baking industry, this is the highest she’s ever seen the essentials.
 
She had to raise prices from $3-$6 per serving for cake to $3.50-$6.50 per serving and now is considering an increase to $4-$7 per serving to simply cover the cost of ingredients.
 
“We don’t want to have to increase prices, and we’re trying to stay as affordable as we can,” she said.
 
This year, the business is offering mini cakes for Valentine’s Day as a more affordable product for their customers. The mini cakes range from $20-$25 and serve three to four people. They’re cheaper than traditional cakes, while still offering a top-tier delicacy and the shop’s creative goods.
 
The smaller cakes also make it less likely any of the delicious treats will go to waste.
 
“We definitely feel it but we’re trying to help our customers too,” she said. “They’re the ones who support us.”
 
It’s a delicate balance of supporting the business but also everyone who enjoys the sweetness found in the shop.
 
And although many morning routines may change to cope with the eggs-cruciating increases, Mason’s and Belmont’s will not. Anyone looking for them can find Mason mixing together batter in the back of her shop downtown or Belmont rounding the coops with his green wire baskets on Heptner Road.
 
Despite the rise in costs and rumblings of people handling the issues in their own backyards, there hasn’t been any noticeable effect in the number of people applying for chicken licenses in Gillette.
 
“There hasn’t been any. It’s just been the same,” said Teresa Mills, animal shelter supervisor, of the impact egg prices have had on urban chicken ownership. “There’s been no increase.”
 
There are currently 37 people permitted to have chickens in the city of Gillette, Mills said, since city ordinances changed in April 2021 to allow domesticated chickens.
 
People living in the suburban residential (R-S), single-family residential (R-1), single- and two-family residential (R-2) and mobile home (M-H) districts can now keep up to five chickens per residence.
 
There are a number of coop requirements license holders must follow, and Animal Control officers complete an on-site inspection of the coop before issuing the permit, which costs $50 upfront then $15 to renew each year.
 
“They have to come in, fill out an application, we do a coop inspection and then they’re good to go,” Mills said.
 
Even back in April 2021, the initial demand was marginal, Mills said, with it increasing slowly throughout the nearly two years chickens have been allowed.
 
“There were only a handful of people that came in, and they just slowly kind of trickle in off and on but no real increase,” she said.
 
Bill Belmont, who supplies locals with eggs from his more than 250 chickens, said the cost to maintain chickens is one reason he doesn't think people would raise their own.
 
"The fact of the matter is, the price of feed alone has gone way up, and it costs a lot of money," he said. 
 
For those wanting to put those eggs into retail for profit, they'd also have to consider costs of other necessary products.
 
"When you do an egg swap with ranchers, they bring the cartons back," Belmont said. "But when you start selling on a bigger basis, you're spending extra on those cartons. That's an extra 35 to 40 cents (each carton), which brings up the price quite a bit. It would almost cost you more to raise the chicken than buy the eggs."
 
Among those who have exercised their newly found rights to raise urban chickens, there have been few problems, as some anticipated there may be.
 
“There really haven’t (been any issues). People have been pretty responsible with their chickens,” Mills said.
 
This story was published on Feb. 14, 2023.