BUCKEYE, AZ — Already this year, the cost of eggs reached record highs primarily because of the bird flu killing egg-laying hens.
The average cost of eggs in Arizona is around $6 a dozen.
However, help could be on the way for one of our state’s biggest producers.
Some may feel it’s too far for one specific grocery item, but these days it’s not uncommon for people to drive to Hickman’s Family Farm in Buckeye - just for eggs.
”For every person that complains about the price, you get ten comments about, ‘gah, we’re glad you have eggs,’” said Glenn Hickman, president of Hickman’s Family Farm.
Hickman’s is one of the country’s biggest egg producers that, like the rest of the industry, are getting shelled by bird flu.
"To all of a sudden have a barn or a farm that’s totally empty, is a little emotionally challenging for everybody,” he said.
Just at one Hickman farm in Arizona, they’ve already lost more than a million egg-laying hens due to bird flu.
The loss amounts to about 20% of their flock – or two truckloads of eggs.
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Hickman explained that respiratory illness spreads from migrating waterfowl. When hens get it – they can quickly suffocate and die.
”Our flock in Maricopa started at the back of one barn and within a week, the entire farm had gotten sick and died,” he said
Now consider the millions of birds infected since the start of the year, according to the agriculture department.
So with less supply and higher demand – egg prices go up for customers.
As for humans, Hickman says there hasn’t been any employee that’s had the illness like elsewhere in the country.
As long as your eggs are cooked properly, and milk is pasteurized – the risk of getting bird flu through consumption is unlikely.
”There is no product, to you human trace that has happened yet, and there probably won’t be,” he said.
So to try and take a crack to stop the spread, Hickman’s is taking a page out of Europe’s book to vaccinate their birds.
The Department of Agriculture issued a conditional license for avian flu vaccine made in the U.S., late last week. When vaccinations start, is unclear.
Vaccinating one animal on the farm could require all others to get the same treatment. Hickman explained this could impact U.S. exports of meat that other parts of the world rely on the US for.
Hickman also hopes European countries ship eggs stateside by the summer to help with dwindling supply.
”Once we can gain control and birds stop dying, then we can get a return to normalization,” he added.
