The 2020 Top Egg Company Survey published earlier this year included 68 companies in its rankings. Year-over-year, the top of the rankings list remained much the same, showing only one change. But the companies on the list with the smallest flock sizes show more change.
The 10 smallest of the top US egg producers
For the 2020 survey (layer flock size as of December 31, 2019), only three companies remained in the same ranking position among the 10 smallest companies on the list -- Wilcox Farms, Sunrise Farms LLC and Vital Farms.
Top US egg producers: 10 smallest flocks, ranked by million hens
- Feather Crest: 0.98
- Chino Valley Ranchers/MCM Poultry: 0.85
- Colorado Eggs: 0.80
- Wilcox Farms: 0.79
- Hidden Villa Ranch: 0.70
- Hillside Poultry Farms Inc.: 0.70
- Weber Family Farms: 0.52
- Sunrise Farms LLC: 0.50
- Demler Egg Ranch: 0.35
- Vital Farms: 0.30
Of the 10 smallest companies on the list, year-over-year, two have the same layer flock size; four have smaller flocks and two have larger flocks. Two companies -- Colorado Eggs and Demler Egg Ranch -- were new to the rankings.
Potential changes to the rankings for 2021
One acquisition will certainly impact this group of companies in the next set of rankings: In April, MPS Egg Farms announced it purchased Feather Crest Farms. The acquisition will bring MPS's total flock size to approximately 11 million hens.
Additionally, Vital Farms, ranked as the 68th and final company in the 2020 survey, may well see an increase in the next set of rankings. In late 2019, the company, which specializes in pasture-raised egg production, announced it was expanding its processing operations in Springfield, Missouri, by 64,000 square feet.
The company applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol VITL in early July, and, on July 31, became a publicly traded company. It raised nearly $205 million in an initial public offering.
Annual Top Egg Company Survey
The Top Egg Company Survey includes rankings of the top egg producers in the U.S. Additional data sets in the 2020 issue include states that have adopted cage-free layer housing legislation and egg producers’ predictions on how hens will be housed in 2025.
The next set of rankings will be published in January 2021 and may show a very different picture than the previous year, given the ongoing challenges of COVID-19.
Digging deeper into the top US egg producers
For more Top Companies insights, access the Top Poultry Companies database to look up individual company profiles, sort by region or product type. The database offers information on companies’ layer flock sizes, geographic markets served and key product categories for egg producers throughout the world.
Additionally, egg industry data is available for purchase on the leading U.S. egg producers over a five-year timespan in a downloadable, easy-to-use spreadsheet. This historical format provides users a unique perspective on changes in the industry. (Purchase and download Top US egg producers 2014-2019.)
