[rant]Cage free eggs[rant]

There's a lot more at risk here than higher egg prices.



http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Flu-Virus-Our-Hatching/dp/1590560981



Five million chickens crammed into one Iowa "farm"? Barges full of ideology-infected apes floating in the Mediterranean and Andamon Seas clamoring for food and shelter?



Greed and ignorance are coming home to roost on this once-fair planet. Mother Nature is always striving to keep a balance although the mullahs, popes and those who industrialize the lives of fellow creatures make it difficult for her sometimes.


We're all cool with letting you eat only the stuff Mother Nature provides naturally without any assistance from farmers and ranchers if it's bothering you. Lots of free range chickens where you live? Got any running around in the back yard? Or planning any moves to the country to start a chicken ranch?

(Some do, so I'll ask. But I'm guessing your last meal of chicken showed up magically in Saran Wrap at a grocery store.)
 
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102722049

Interesting. So far McD's has not cut their egg mc muffs yet.

I'm sure McD(s) isn't helping the situation. Likely buying out all the supplies from underneath the under chains and willing to pay whatever it takes. Using this opportunity to flex their big money muscle and capture customers (even if at a higher pricer) that would generally have went to the other chains for breakfast.
 
Does an egg mcmuff actually contain egg? Always tastes digusting, and synthetic to me :)

I'm not a McD's fan, but I don't hate their food either. I actually like Double Quarter Pounders and the Mcmuffs. As far as I can tell, they use real eggs.
 
James, New York has banned all fowl from the fairs statewide as a precaution against avian flu. Because my state is famous for knee-jerk reactions, I'm wondering whether you think this was justified or over-the-top.

I know a lot of local kids are really bummed out that their birds won't be able to compete, but I'm also inclined to think the downside risk is so enormous that it probably makes sense not to take the chance. The fact that a lot of other states that are less known for catastrophizing every issue that comes along are also banning fowl competitions at their fairs also leads me to believe that the New York ban makes sense.

But I, of course, am no expert. I'm curious for your expert opinion.

Thanks.

Rich

I think you have it correct. The cost/benefit analysis is strongly in favor of postponing shows and fairs. The chance is pretty low, but the costs and implications are staggering.
 
I'm sure McD(s) isn't helping the situation. Likely buying out all the supplies from underneath the under chains and willing to pay whatever it takes. Using this opportunity to flex their big money muscle and capture customers (even if at a higher pricer) that would generally have went to the other chains for breakfast.


My understanding is that McD's had multiple suppliers who all had clauses in their contracts that if another part of the supply chain went down they had to fill in by cutting off other customers. They did have suppliers hit by influenza and did invoke their supply clauses with non-infected suppliers.

This is second hand as I don't supply there.
 
It has been 40 days since we first detected avian influenza at one of our farms. We ended up with eight infected premises with nearly 8 million birds. All have been euthanized and disposed of. I suspect that it will be 12 months before those sites can repopulate and will take another 12 months after that to get back to full capacity.

It isn't fun to fight an enemy you can't see, that can travel by air, and is highly virulent. USDA has shown that mallard ducks can get the disease, not become ill, and shed the virus for 14 days as it clears. I really hope this dies out and doesn't become a problem for the chicken industry in the southern states this fall, but am very concerned.
 

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I did my (once every two month) grocery shopping last Sunday morning.. I was expecting egg prices to be sky high....

Turns out they were on sale.... 4 dozen Large eggs for 5 bucks..:redface:..

Cheapest I have ever seen eggs around here...:confused:
 
I did my (once every two month) grocery shopping last Sunday morning.. I was expecting egg prices to be sky high....

Turns out they were on sale.... 4 dozen Large eggs for 5 bucks..:redface:..

Cheapest I have ever seen eggs around here...:confused:


Retailers will plan features in advance and will contact volumes to cover those features. I'm surprised that they followed through on it though. Would you be willing to name the store to satisfy my curiosity? PM is fine.
 
Retailers will plan features in advance and will contact volumes to cover those features. I'm surprised that they followed through on it though. Would you be willing to name the store to satisfy my curiosity? PM is fine.

Smiths grocery in Jackson Wy...

https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/

I "think" they are a national chain....

Every 2 months, I spend 240 bucks on food and they give me a 30 cent per gallon discount for premium fuel..... It goes into my plane....:yes::):):)
 
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I did my (once every two month) grocery shopping last Sunday morning.. I was expecting egg prices to be sky high....

Turns out they were on sale.... 4 dozen Large eggs for 5 bucks..:redface:..

Cheapest I have ever seen eggs around here...:confused:

Wait - you store your eggs for 2 months?
 
Hell no....

I will have them all eaten in a few weeks...

Ah ok. I'm just trying to understand why you only go grocery shopping once every two months. So you eat the eggs in a few weeks, and then have no eggs for the 1,5 months before you go again?
 
Ah ok. I'm just trying to understand why you only go grocery shopping once every two months. So you eat the eggs in a few weeks, and then have no eggs for the 1,5 months before you go again?

Naw....

Eggs will last for 4-5 weeks... I can weather the 3 week wait for more of them.... If I need more for pancakes, brownies or other recipes, I will stop for another dozen...
 
Just sounds so funny to me - I go grocery shopping every single day. In a weird way I enjoy it, and I have no clue what I would like to eat day after tomorrow anyway :)
 
Just sounds so funny to me - I go grocery shopping every single day. In a weird way I enjoy it, and I have no clue what I would like to eat day after tomorrow anyway :)

Jackson Hole gets CRAZY with tourists in the summer.. Like 3X the population every night.... and They ALL drive like siht...
 
Just sounds so funny to me - I go grocery shopping every single day. In a weird way I enjoy it, and I have no clue what I would like to eat day after tomorrow anyway :)

That's pretty much what I do when I'm in Southeast Asia. I kind of prefer it that way myself.
 
I think you have it correct. The cost/benefit analysis is strongly in favor of postponing shows and fairs. The chance is pretty low, but the costs and implications are staggering.

Thank you.

Rich
 
We've actually increased our egg usage over the past year. My older one doesn't like any protein not in "McNugget" form; but "breakfast for dinner" -- french toast or scrambled, avoids a dinner table argument. I didn't notice a particularly sharp increase at Costco (where we've been buying XL in 3 doz units). I haven't inspected the labeling, but I think they are sourced in PA.

NPR had a story about rising egg prices just two days ago -- they say broken eggs are harder hit than shell eggs.
 
The map James linked to doesn't show any infections in Michigan but the state has mandated no fowl at this year's county fairs.
 
I haven't noticed higher prices, but I have noticed that there have been no egg sales at the local supermarkets for the past few weeks. Previously, eggs seemed to be one of those items that were "always" on sale (probably as loss leaders, if I had to guess).

But I usually buy my eggs from a market that sells only products from local farms. I stopped by there today, and extra-large brown eggs were the same $3.50 / dozen than they've been for months. That's about $0.50 - $0.75 more than at the supermarkets, but I do try to support the local farmers.

Rich
 
Local supermarket is in the $3.99 range for a carton of 18 X-Large and I paid $6.49 at Costco for two cartons of 18 X-Large.
 
Eggman/ James..

Hey buddy....

Are you guys getting back on track ?:dunno:
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

It has been almost six months since the first detection at one of our facilities. Out of 45 locations we ended up finding it at eight resulting in depopulation of almost 7.5 million layers and 1.2 million pullets(birds less than 18 weeks old not laying eggs yet).

All of the pullet sites have now been cleared, are stocked, and we put the first birds in a laying operation this week. It will be 15 more months until we are back to pre-outbreak capacity.

We had moderate success working with our customers who were buying product under contract in getting financial assistance to cross the bridge, and due to the terrible industry losses the pricing for our product at non-infected facilities provided significant returns to help offset losses at the infected properties. Our owners made a decision to not do any layoffs and I'm very proud to say that we kept the vast majority of our team paid and insured. We elected to contract with the FedGov ourselves to do the cleanup rather than turn it over to contractors.

As far as our industry interaction with the government and specifically USDA to work through the quarantine, depop, cleanup, and restocking there were some hits and misses. Generally USDA used contractors to provide the work and the contractors were hugely successful in fleecing the taxpayer. I suspect that my father and I will end up in front of a congressional committee at some point offering testimony on our experience. You know the old saw about "how could the government spend $800 on a hammer"? Well, I found out. The process is simply mind blowing.

I think we(our company and owners) learned some incredible lessons and are spending a metric crap ton on bio-security improvements. Frankly, when this got out of hand in Minnesota there were failures at the company, state, and federal level in the response. We were simply not prepared for the virulence and persistence of this virus. It got out of hand and the amount of virus pushed out into the environment was mind boggling. The only thing that stopped it was temperature outside. As soon as it got hot enough the virus lost it's ability to exist for any time away from a host. Terrifying. The next time we have to react much faster and isolate sites. I will offer up my own experience as an example. At our first detection it took days to get everything lined up to euthanize quickly and we had entire flocks dead before we could get to them. With our last detection, I killed a flock with an unconventional technique within hours. I even bypassed federal indemnity on this flock because I acted on clinical signs rather than waiting for official lab results. But I was able to save three other complexes of birds within a mile of that infection.

I am thankful for my family. My wife was incredibly supportive. My health took a terrible toll. I stopped exercising, had trouble sleeping with many truly sleepless nights. I gained 25 lbs and was probably drinking too much. I ended up in the ER with strep throat in the middle of this mess and found my diastolic was up 10 points. I quit flying because I knew my mind wasn't in the right place.

I'm now back on the treadmill, the doc is less unhappy, the wife is happy, quit the booze(mostly ;)), am eating clean, and am back in the air.

I knew the night of the first detection that my life would never be the same. That sound like hyperbole, but in this case it isn't.

Happy to answer any questions.

Eggman
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

Sounds like its pointed in the right direction...thanks for the update...I cannot even imagine the stress involved.
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

My six yard birds decided now was a good time when egg prices are through the roof to molt and the older birds are slower egg producers anyway so instead of 5 or 6 a day I am getting 2-3. Nothing makes me more upset than buying eggs and lay crumb both. :eek:)

Might be time to cull mine before winter and start a new batch in the spring.

Glad to hear things are getting better.
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

Sounds like its pointed in the right direction...thanks for the update...I cannot even imagine the stress involved.

Agreed...

James has been to hell... And back.....

Glad he is aimed in the right direction...:):):)..

I can only imagine the guv contractors scams..... I have seen them build and remodel the Jackson Hole airport 4 times in 10 years... Should have been a 20 mil job..... They milked it for about 100 million...:mad2::mad2:...
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

James, I'm glad things are headed the right direction for you now, and thanks for sharing the stories with us.
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

That's quite a story. Glad to hear things are back on track.
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

James, I'm glad things are looking up, particularly your health. Keep it up, and thanks for the update.
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

Wow. That's quite a mess. I'm glad you look to be through it and are recovering well. Thanks for the update.
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

I did my part by buying eggs at inflated prices with the knowledge that hopefully some of it would filter down to the producers.

Trickle down economics?
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

James, glad things are headed in a good direction again for you. I'll be glad when egg prices settle out again!
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

Sounds like it was rough and horrible, but you and your company made some great choices. It is great you are almost out the other side. Congrats! And great news that you are flying again.
 
Re: Eggman/ James..

Glad all y'all made it through the roughest part. Continued success bringing this outbreak to a final conclusion.
 
Just had to revive this for background information.
 
Just had to revive this for background information.


Thanks Sac for the bump.....

I revived it in another thread , but this one is better...

Break /////

Hey James / Eggman...


What is the status of Turkeys and their prices now that Thanksgiving is right around the corner?:dunno:
 
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