1. Cal-Maine Foods, 44.51 million
Cal-Maine Foods is the largest producer and marketer of shell eggs in the United States. Its operations consist of hatching chicks; growing and maintaining flocks of pullets, layers and breeders; manufacturing feed; and producing, processing, packaging and distributing shell eggs.
Cal-Maine Foods produces brown and white caged and cage-free eggs, as well as free-range, organic and nutritionally enhanced eggs. It also produces liquid and bulk egg products.
In January 2023, Cal-Maine Foods announced a partnership with energy services provider Entegrity Energy Partners. As a result of the collaboration, Entegrity installed a 4.15 megawatt, direct-current solar array at the producer’s egg production and processing facility in Searcy, Arkansas. The 28-acre solar array is anticipated to offset approximately 91% of the facility’s electrical usage. The array is also expected to improve the producer’s energy self-sufficiency and reduce the facility’s reliance on the electrical grid, as well as lessen its greenhouse gas emissions.
In March 2023, Cal-Maine Foods named Todd Walters chief operating officer (COO) and Matt Whiteman vice president of operations. Just six months before, Cal-Maine Foods named Sherman L. Miller as president and CEO.
In September 2023, Cal-Maine Foods acquired the assets of Fassio Egg Farms’ commercial shell egg production and processing business. The assets included Fassio’s conventional and cage-free farms with a capacity of approximately 1.2 million laying hens, a feed mill, fertilizer production and composting operations. Fassio’s pullet flocks and land are located in Erda, Utah.
2. Rose Acre Farms, 25.5 million
Rose Acre Farms is based in Indiana, with 15 laying facilities in seven states. It produces conventional, cage-free, nutritionally enhanced, liquid and dried eggs, as well as egg protein powder.
In May 2023, Rose Acre held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of its new US$100 million Desert Valley Egg Farm in Arizona. The farm will house 2.2 million cage-free layers and has a targeted completion date of 2026.
Rose Acre Farms is a co-owner of Opal Foods with Weaver Brothers.
3. Daybreak Foods Inc., 20.5 million
Daybreak Foods Inc. is based in Wisconsin and produces conventional, cage-free and organic eggs, as well as liquid egg products.
In May 2023, Daybreak Foods acquired the production and processing operations of Hen Haven LLC and Schipper Eggs LLC.
4. Hillandale Farms, 18.75 million
Hillandale Farms has production facilities in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast U.S. It produces conventional, cage-free, free-range and organic eggs under the Hillandale Farms, Born Free and Eggland’s Best brands, as well as liquid hard-cooked and bulk egg products. The producer also offers butter, cheese, meats and breads.
In August 2022, Hillandale named Kevin Jackson its new CEO.
5. Versova Holdings LLP, 18.45 million
Versova, formed in 2016, is comprised of Centrum Valley Farms in Iowa and Trillium Farms. It produces caged and cage-free eggs, as well as liquid egg products.
6. MPS Egg Farms, 13.64 million
MPS Egg Farms is based in Indiana and is a family-owned business that produces conventional, cage-free and nutritionally enhanced eggs.
In December 2021, MPS Egg Farms announced a partnership with Dutch egg company Kipster and grocery store chain Kroger to offer carbon-neutral eggs in the U.S. for the first time. The eggs came available for purchase at select Kroger locations in December 2022. MPS Egg Farms is the first commercial egg producer in the U.S. to adopt and construct this type of production model, which includes open areas of outdoor and indoor access.
In February 2023, MPS Egg Farms acquired Country Charm Eggs. The purchase expanded MPS’ flock by almost 2 million birds and the company now has facilities in Indiana, Illinois, Texas and Georgia.
7. Center Fresh Group, 12.53 million
Center Fresh Group, founded more than 20 years ago by eight Iowa farm families, is comprised of Center Fresh Egg Farm, Sioux County Egg Farm, Hawkeye Pride and Center Fresh Africa-Mozambique. Center Fresh produces conventionally raised and cage-free eggs, as well as liquid egg products.
8. Mid-States Specialty Eggs, 10.3 million
Mid-States Specialty Eggs is based in Missouri with farms and grading operations in Missouri and Arkansas. It produces free-range, cage-free, pasture-raised and organic eggs marketed by Eggs ‘R’ Us Inc.
9. Michael Foods, 9.7 million
Michael Foods Inc. is based in Minnesota and is the largest supplier of processed eggs in the U.S.
Michael Foods produces caged and cage-free eggs, as well as liquid egg, dried egg, hard cooked, consumer packed and bulk products.
In December 2021, Northwest Farms and Proterra Investment Partners acquired the operations and assets of Willamette Egg Farms in the Pacific Northwest from Michael Foods.
In April 2023, Michael Foods announced a US$146 million expansion at its precooked egg manufacturing and distribution facility located in Norwalk, Iowa. The expansion will add approximately 132,000 square feet to the plant, with targeted completion in December 2024.
10. Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, 9.53 million
Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch is based in Michigan and is the state’s largest egg producer. It produces conventional, cage-free, free-range and organic eggs.
In August 2022, Herbruck’s announced that it completed construction on its US$100 million Blue Springs Egg Farm located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. In May 2023, Herbruck’s announced it was expanding its fertilizer production process to its 335-acre Blue Springs facility and reducing its overall energy usage across the company.
11. Gemperle Family Farms, 8.8 million
Gemperle Family Farms is based in Northern California and produces organic, cage-free and nutritionally enhanced eggs. It also produces liquid, consumer packed and bulk cage-free egg products.
12. Prairie Star Farms, 7.91 million
Prairie Star Farms markets the combined egg production of Rindler Poultry, Ross-Medford Farms, Hoosier Pride and J Star Farms. It produces conventional and cage-free eggs, as well as liquid egg products.
13. Sauder’s Eggs, 7.63 million
Sauder’s Eggs is a family-owned egg producer with facilities in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio and produces caged, cage-free, free-range, pasture-raised and organic eggs, as well as hard-cooked egg products.
14. Kreider Farms, 7.1 million
Kreider Farms, based in Pennsylvania, produces conventional, cage-free, free-range, organic and nutritionally enhanced eggs, as well as milk and ice cream. Kreider Farms supplies shell eggs to the northeastern United States and sells cage-free eggs under the Noah’s Pride and Kreider brands. Kreider Farms is the largest egg producer in Pennsylvania.
In May 2023, Kreider Farms acquired all of Esbenshade Farms’ shell egg operations and its related customer base. Simultaneously, agricultural products and services organization The Wenger Group acquired Esbenshade Farms’ feed mill and its Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, properties, as well as all of Esbenshade’s swine operations.
15. Opal Foods, 7.01 million
Opal Foods is based in Missouri, Colorado and Iowa and produces conventional, cage-free, organic and nutritionally enhanced eggs. Opal Foods also provides Land O’Lakes with brown eggs. The company is jointly owned by Rose Acre Farms and Weaver Eggs.
Opal Foods is one of the eight companies that make up egg farmer cooperative ProEgg, which serves 13 western U.S. states.
16. Hickman’s Egg Ranch, 6 million
Hickman’s Egg Ranch, also known as Hickman’s Family Farms, is a family-owned business based in Arizona and Colorado. Hickman’s Family Farms is Arizona’s largest egg producer and has partnerships with Central Valley Eggs and Colorado Eggs. Hickman’s is one of the eight companies that makes up egg farmer cooperative ProEgg, which serves 13 western U.S. states.
Hickman’s Egg Ranch produces cage-free, grass-fed and organic eggs, as well as liquid egg products, hard-boiled eggs and bulk products.
In January 2022, Greg Herbruck assumed the role of CEO while remaining vice chairman of the company’s board.
The company recycles more than 1 million water bottles weekly for its clear polyethylene terephthalate packaging. The cartons are made at the Hickman’s Family Farms facility in Avondale, Arizona.
16. Fremont Farms of Iowa, 6 million
Fremont Farms of Iowa is a producer and processor of liquid egg products. It produces liquid whole eggs, yolks and whites.
18. Cooper Farms, 5.93 million
Cooper Farms is a family-owned, vertically integrated turkey company that is also involved in egg and pork production. All its operations are based in Ohio. It produces conventional and cage-free eggs, as well as liquid egg and bulk products.
The Cooper Farms Egg Division opened a new egg facility called Golden Heritage Cage-Free Egg Farm, located in Western Ohio in January 2022. The facility is operated as a partnership between two family farms that are splitting management responsibilities.
In May 2021, Cooper Farms acquired liquid egg processor CW Egg, which is now known as Cooper Farms Liquid Egg Products, a segment of the Cooper Farms Egg Division.
19. Vital Farms, 5.7 million
Vital Farms was founded in 2007 and is based in Texas. It produces pasture-raised, organic and hard-boiled eggs. Additionally, the company offers blue heirloom eggs and restorative pasture-raised eggs.
In March 2023, Vital Farms partnered with food distribution company Dot Foods, which has a network of 5,200 distributors across the U.S.
20. Hidden Villa Ranch, 5.5 million
Villa Ranch is a family-owned egg producer based in Fullerton, California, that produces cage-free, free-range, organic and nutritionally enhanced eggs. It also produces cage-free liquid and dry egg products, hard-cooked eggs, consumer packed and bulk products. The company distributes several brands including California Sunshine, California Ranch Fresh, Horizon Organic and NestFresh.
21. Sunrise Farms Inc., 5 million
Started in 2003, Sunrise Farms Inc. is located in Harris, Iowa. Parent company Sonstegard Food Group is a third-generation, family-owned company with operations in six states. Sunrise Farms produces conventional eggs.
22. S&R Egg Farm, 4.85 million
S&R Egg Farm is based in Wisconsin and delivers eggs to distribution centers and egg wholesalers.
23. ISE America, 4.7 million
ISE America Inc. is an egg producer based in Maryland. It produces conventional and cage-free eggs, as well as bulk and liquid egg products.
The company is a subsidiary of ISE Inc., headquartered in Japan.
24. Wabash Valley Produce, 4.62 million
Wabash Valley Produce is based in Indiana and produces conventional and cage-free eggs, as well as liquid, frozen, dried and extended-shelf-life egg products. It has locations in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.
In June 2023, Wabash Valley Produce announced plans to open a US$63 million egg products processing plant in Dubois, County, Indiana, to supply egg-based products to Tyson Foods’ Jimmy Dean breakfast brand.
25. Weaver Brothers, 4.44 million
Established in 1929, Weaver Brothers is a fourth-generation family-owned farm based in Ohio. The company produces organic, conventional, cage-free, free-range and hard-cooked egg products. It produces under multiple brands, including Eggland’s Best.
Weaver Brothers is a co-owner of Opal Foods with Rose Acre Farms.
