US egg producers face an unpredictable market in 2022

Braswell Farm’s fourth-generation president, Trey Braswell, discussed how the North Carolina based company has navigated cage-free legislation and what some of the biggest challenges are for egg producers today.

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Courtesy of Braswell Farms
Courtesy of Braswell Farms

The past few years have presented uncertainty to the egg industry, including COVID-19 affecting the supply chain and workforce, and the incremental growth of cage-free mandates. This has left some companies not knowing what to prepare for, and not wanting to financially commit until they do. Depending on the location and state legislation, some have been forced to commit to cage free or go out of business.

In an interview with Egg Industry Insight, Braswell Farm’s fourth-generation president, Trey Braswell, discussed how the 77-year-old, North Carolina based company has navigated these situations and what some of the biggest challenges are for egg producers today.

“I think the biggest challenge is not knowing what we need to be prepared for it for in this whole cage-free thing. Consumers and retailers aren’t willing to pay for cage-free (eggs) right now and the producer can’t afford to speculate on it. Cage-free equipment and converting to cage free doesn't pay for itself,” explained Braswell. “There’s a lot of questions out there for the egg producer, the value of their business and the cost of staying with it.”

Because Braswell Farms, founded in 1943 by first generation E.G. Braswell, is a fourth-generation company with no uncertainty concerning who will take it over, the family business has another level of security for the company’s future. However, Braswell explained that this is not the case for everyone.

“I think a concern of a lot of people is, especially if they don't have a next generation or they're not quite ready to retire, they're wondering if their business will have any value if all they have is caged equipment. There are family businesses that don't have a next generation interested, so they're not going to stick with it and go into more debt. I think there will be some industry consolidation if there's not somebody in my generation that is already plugged to take over a family business,” he stated.

Will Braswell go 100% cage free?

A large reason cage-free eggs have grown in popularity, and the company has provided cage-free eggs as an option, is due to consumer demand, according to Braswell. Even though the industry still doesn’t know what the egg market will look like in 2022, providing affordable protein is the main motive for the company.

Braswell made it clear that unless legislation forces it, he doesn’t see Braswell Farms going 100% cage free in the near future. However, the company is the second largest Eggland’s Best franchisee in the U.S., which produces cage-free and organic egg products.

“We don't have any ballot initiatives where we're at (in North Carolina), but we expect at some point, the retailer will feel the need to just have one supplier, and that may push a supplier to go cage free.”

“The very loud voice from the very small group (of activists), has always been an issue is probably the one of the biggest challenges (for the egg industry),” he explained. “We're going to do what our customers want and as our customers buy more cage free, we continue to grow our cage free. There's people that need that high quality affordable protein at a reasonable price and we're not for taking that away from them, but as far as forcing it, that's not our plan.”

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