A new egg farmer cooperative ProEgg will help stabilize the U.S. shell egg supply while offering collaborative solutions to the industry and creating a stable future for its retail and foodservice customers.
ProEgg will serve 13 western U.S. states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Its members will collaborate and sell shell eggs to grocery and foodservice customers. ProEgg’s intent is to create sustainable buying opportunities for egg customers while promoting a consistent and reliable egg supply.
The eight egg producers in the cooperative comprise Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.; Central Valley Eggs, LLC; Colorado Egg, LLC; Hickman’s Egg Ranch, Inc.; Oakdell Egg Farms, Inc.; Opal Foods LLC; Ritewood, Inc. and Willamette Egg Farms, LLC.
ProEgg’s members were chosen due to their management practices, food safety programs, animal welfare certifications and sustainable farming operations that support the environment.
“The formation of ProEgg is a deliberate response by our members to an ever-changing egg market,” stated Ric Herrera, ProEgg CEO. “Combining production under the cooperative umbrella will promote stability within the egg supply chain, create contingencies to avoid supply disruption, develop sustainable logistics and maximize the available egg volume in the region.”
According to the cooperative’s website, ProEgg's offerings will include specialty eggs, retail branded eggs and eggs produced in various housing types. ProEgg operates sales and accounting internally and determines its own pricing.
The cooperative is headquartered in Aurora, Colorado, and became operational at the start of the year. ProEgg was formed under the Capper-Volstead Act, which establishes the right for farms to organize as cooperatives for the purposes of joint marketing activities.
ProEgg hopes to address high demand
One of ProEgg’s goals is to stabilize the U.S. egg industry during a period of high demand and lower supply.
For the majority of 2022, U.S. egg prices have remained at historically elevated levels due to the country’s highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak. The combination of higher demand and limited supply has sent the U.S. egg industry into “shock mode,” according to media company Urner Barry’s December 2022 Forecast Webinar.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), over 43 million table egg layers were depopulated due to HPAI in 2022.
