Comments
0thell0perrell0 t1_j4biqam wrote
Yes, I always buy them up through Ripton or Lincoln because they're cheaper and the best and of course they cut out the middleman.
vtham t1_j4bklwg wrote
Absolutely.
AyatollahDan t1_j4bnop3 wrote
There was an avian flu outbreak, which lead to a culling in commercial egg farms. So inflation crossed with a drop in supply has driven commercial egg prices up.
Allemaengel t1_j4bowoy wrote
True down here in northeastern PA as well.
WhatTheCluck802 t1_j4bv8zj wrote
Owner of a small backyard flock of chooks. Feed prices are astronomical these days. We don’t sell our eggs - just give them away to family and friends when we have extras - but if we did sell we’d have to price them pretty highly to break even.
zonitronic t1_j4bz8uc wrote
It was like that all the time until about 30 years ago when the local farms started going under en masse.
eddiesmom t1_j4bzzqb wrote
Yes! Now I feel ashamed for thinking that $3.50/dozen was too pricey for local 😕
Chess_Not_Checkers t1_j4c3d22 wrote
For sure. I've noticed that a few local/regional products (Cabot in particular) are also either the same or almost the same price as other national brands now.
SpookyOoo t1_j4c9e7u wrote
They would have been free if the town of fair haven didnt ban the raising of chickens or other poultry.
d-cent t1_j4ceprq wrote
The bird flu has made it more advantageous to have small farms
HandCarvedRabbits t1_j4cq4vw wrote
Loving it! Just got two farm fresh dozen for $10.00.
MizLucinda t1_j4cr8x2 wrote
Yep. I like to get my eggs from a neighbor for lots of reasons, mostly because I like my neighbor and those chickens. Kind of a bonus that they’re cheaper.
bonanzapineapple t1_j4ct1yn wrote
Yeah, Cabot looks very comparable to other dairy products
BostonUH t1_j4cug8j wrote
Yep, farm fresh eggs might be the best bang for the buck of any food you can buy right now. $5/dozen so at 2-3 eggs per serving it’s basically $1 per meal.
YouOtterKnow t1_j4cyxwf wrote
I live in Stowe does anyone has a reliable connection they'd be willing to share? I'd much rather buy from a local farm than Shaw's.
khegobier t1_j4d03rg wrote
I literally just ordered chickens. This won't be my first time, we had about 40 birds before we moved up here last year, but it was definitely nice to not have to worry about eggs.
zombienutz1 t1_j4d17zg wrote
Costco is still around $0.28 an egg if you pick up the 72 pack. Would definitely prefer the rich yolk eggs from local spots but I go through far too many eggs.
ExpressionFamiliar98 t1_j4d5029 wrote
Except our local hens ain’t layin’!!
mjc7373 t1_j4d6tse wrote
I heard over a billion chickens were killed because of that flu.
ButtonFactoryJoe t1_j4dcioz wrote
I was getting an 18 pack of nellies eggs last year for 5.79 just the other day it was 9.59...
I'd love to find a local egg hookup near Milton.
Stronkowski t1_j4dfljy wrote
As a kid in the 90s it was way cheaper for my parents to send me to our neighbors on my bike than to pick some up on our regular grocery runs.
hudsoncider t1_j4dkoci wrote
u/ranaparvus how much are you paying per dozen in your area?
iamthefluffyyeti t1_j4dq5cd wrote
Isn’t corporate capitalism fantastic?
woolsocksandsandals t1_j4ds4cn wrote
Right now my cost/dozen from my 24 chickens is about $3.75 if I put them in a free recycled carton. It’s over $5 if I have to use a new carton. If you’re getting eggs from a small farmer give them at least $6/dozen no matter what they’re asking.
Birds have gotten expensive, feed is expensive cartons are outrageous and bedding costs are high. If you value that product and want to continue to be able to get it make it worth their while to do it and sell to you.
lipsticktracer t1_j4dvet8 wrote
I'm a chicken guy, so I've been following the fucking awful spread of avian influenza and the culling of millions of birds. This is one of the weird circumstances where the normal "economies of scale" reverse. The flu has hit large producers and small farmers alike, but with fewer birds, smaller firms have been more able to protect their birds from the flu and when they are infected and the birds have to be killed, a smaller flock is easier to build back up, so they're recovering faster.
Keep in mind that everything that is currently happening with chickens could absolutely happen with beef (it already did, during the pandemic), milk, corn, vegetables, wheat, nuts, or almost anything else. Large food producers can make things cheaper and cheaper but it always comes at a cost to resiliency. Smaller ag producers are the most resilient parts of any economy (any society, really) and while they may not always be cheap, they're what works when nothing else does.
Buying local isn't always cheap. But if there's one place where it really really matters, it's food. Local farms will only be there to support us when the big producers are falling apart if we support them the rest of the time.
ohnofluffy t1_j4dzozt wrote
I don’t eat meat or dairy unless I know the animals have been raised and treated humanely— pre-pandemic it was all about buying the full animal or going to really local businesses. Pandemic and post-pandemic, it’s been amazing to see how much more you can get. We, also, definitely have noticed how much more cost-effective is now. I recommend it to everyone.
ohnofluffy t1_j4dzvri wrote
Shaws feels like a scam these days.
ohnofluffy t1_j4e00qs wrote
Love that you’re on the Vermont Reddit! Rural NE for the win!
Allemaengel t1_j4e33oo wrote
Love your state and enjoy reading your discussions - learning so much.
I'm in the Poconos here and we share a few things in common.
Norlin123 t1_j4e4hpa wrote
The all are a scam the pandemic has seen all big corporations have had their greatest profits in history
Girhinomofe t1_j4e5h0h wrote
Checking in from New Jersey and this is absolutely the case down here. Been using the local farmstead down the road for years and they’ve always been $4 a dozen.
They are still $4 a dozen, but the grocery stores have definitely cleared that mark.
ohnofluffy t1_j4edmge wrote
Right back at you!!
monkeybeast55 t1_j4el7nt wrote
Was just doing some reading about Avian Influenza. To tell you the truth, I haven't paid much attention. But it's very disturbing to say the least. From The Guardian article I'm reading, "It may become less damaging when sufficient numbers of birds have been infected, or the virus could evolve again, making it easier to spill into other species – including mammals and humans.". I hope they can at least vaccinate for the domestic birds, since culling the flocks removes any chance for herd immunity, I'm guessing.
Yikes.
monkeybeast55 t1_j4em16e wrote
Double yikes. Vaccines are problematic. https://www.science.org/content/article/wrestling-bird-flu-europe-considers-once-taboo-vaccines
Edit: this is by no means an anti vax statement!!
greenmtnfiddler t1_j4eo3rr wrote
Mine have just picked up again in the last few days. Wait for it!
802Maple t1_j4ezybb wrote
I think inflation has something to do with this, i notice it too! Maybe higher importing prices or something?
Abbot_of_Cucany t1_j4f3ocj wrote
A little bit, but primarily caused a massive avian flu outbreak — many commercial producers have had to kill all their chickens.
802Maple t1_j4f3xft wrote
Oh no thats so sad! 🥺
illusivealchemist t1_j4fdsmn wrote
Ask on front porch forum?
Harmacc t1_j4ftr7d wrote
Based on your other comment I don’t think you’re an anti vaxxxer (which I think is what the downvotes are about) I read the linked article. Some experts say it’s important to begin developing vaccines for birds and others worry it will somehow prolong the problem and make it easier to pass to humans.
Hopefully we have ready begun getting a vaccine ready for when it does lass to humans on a larger scale.
redbobcatit t1_j4fuh08 wrote
We’ve paused selling our eggs for the winter as our flock of 14 has slowed their laying. Still getting a dozen every other day, but we’re on a poached egg kick so we’re going through that at about an even pace. I don’t think the $5/dozen we were charging would break even the way these girls are eating though. We still let them out every day but they’re plowing through food with their winter appetites.
monkeybeast55 t1_j4g66z3 wrote
Oh yeah, by no means am I anti vax for humans! I get the flu shot every year and have had all the Covid shots. For poultry populations I was just reflecting on the article, and my comment about herd immunity was based on the article's mention on the potential for herd immunity in wild populations.
wrenchindaddy802 t1_j4g7e9u wrote
Shaw's always felt like a scam. Definitely my least favorite out of shaw's/PC/Hannaford.
Corey307 t1_j4g8xk0 wrote
Over 150 million chickens were culled in the last 14 months because of avian flu globally which is raising prices.
rockstang t1_j4g9s7i wrote
Lol, when is it not? Same with Hannaford. I'm no economist and don't know all of the factors, but at this point it feels like we're just being taken advantage of. Market basket is generally better for us but I saw a really sharp uptick in prices this last week. I saw exactly what op was talking about; the cage free eggs were cheaper.
Edit 1: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/price-fixing-food-industry
I also read recently the majority of stores in the us are owned by only 3 different parent companies.
Edit 2: shaws is owned by Kroger which explains a bunch.
YouOtterKnow t1_j4h04wr wrote
That's a good call
Odd-Philosopher5926 t1_j4i9yt3 wrote
We have put ourselves at great risk by reducing dramatically the amount of processors in America. If even one plant shuts down it could be potentially devastating for a region. We also have one warehouse that distributes all the food for a grocery store chain. If something happens to that warehouse we fucked
czo79 t1_j4bhx05 wrote
This happened back during the crazier days of the pandemic with beef. I remember Boyden farm ribeyes from the local coop being cheaper than feedlot ribeyes from shaws.