SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota’s U.S. Representative Republican Dusty Johnson is one of several federal lawmakers supporting a bill they say will lower the price of eggs in the U.S.
The bill is called the Lowering Egg Prices Act. “The bill would help lower the cost of eggs for consumers, provide relief to poultry farmers, and cut through bureaucratic red tape,” a news release from Johnson said.
Egg production has varied, in part because of avian flu. Infections cause the need for flocks to be destroyed which reduces the number of eggs produced. The average price for a dozen eggs has dropped below $5 but prices have been as high as $5.90 in February.
But based on estimations of eggs used by the lawmakers compared to the consumption and production of eggs in the U.S., the bill may not make a dent in the egg supply. The 400 million eggs referred to by lawmakers is .4% of the total annual egg production in the U.S.
Americans eat an average of 281 eggs per year per capita, according to Statista. This figure was projected to reach 284.4 eggs per capita by 2024.
Johnson supports a bill that he and lawmakers said would save 400 million eggs from being discarded by producers each year. The bill would remove the federal requirement to refrigerate breaker eggs from refrigeration immediately after they are laid. Breaker eggs are pasteurized and used in grocery products such as pasta and cake mix. Removing this requirement would save the 400 million eggs each year, according to Johnson’s news release.
“Reversing this Obama-era regulation would make hundreds of millions of eggs available in the market, easing the crisis and the burden felt by consumers,” Johnson said in a news release. “We need more yolks for folks.”
But egg production and consumption is millions more than 400 million. South Dakota produced 647 million eggs in 2024 through Nov. 30, 2024, according to the USDA. That was a 43% increase from 2023.
Iowa is the largest producer of eggs in the U.S. The USDA said the state produced 13.4 billion eggs in 2024.
In 2022, total egg production was 92.6 billion eggs which was a 3% decrease from 2021. The number increased in 2023 to more than 109 billion eggs but dropped by 1% in 2024 to 109 billion eggs, according to the USDA.
