Layer numbers continue to remain below 2006 levels

Only two of the top 10 states in layer numbers posted year-over-year growth in June, and even leading states whose layer numbers were up were barely so, USDA’s Chicken and Eggs report issued late last month shows.

In total, table egg type layer numbers on July 1 were down 2 percent from previous year levels, while egg-type hatching layers were down 2 percent as well.

Looking at the top 10 states in table egg layers in flocks of 30,000 and above, Iowa was up 1 percent in layer numbers during June; Ohio, down 9 percent; Indiana, down 1 percent; Pennsylvania, down 5 percent; California, up 1 percent; Texas, down 1 percent; Nebraska, down 6 percent; Minnesota, down 6 percent; Georgia, down 2 percent; and Florida, down 4 percent.

Egg production from all layers (from both table egg and hatching egg flocks) on July 1, meanwhile, was down 1 percent, as production per 100 layers was 2,169 eggs, up slightly from June 2006.