Despite high egg prices, layer numbers continue to be below previous-year levels, according to USDA’s Chicken and Eggs report released late last month. Layer numbers as of Dec. 1 were 2 percent below year earlier levels, the report shows.
Only three states out of the top 10, Iowa, California, and Texas, posted year-over-year gains during November in table egg layer flocks 30,000 and above. Looking at the top 10, Iowa was up 3 percent; Indiana, down 2 percent; Ohio was down 4 percent; Pennsylvania, down 9 percent; California, up 1 percent; Texas, up 3 percent; Florida, down 1 percent; Nebraska, down 12 percent; Minnesota, down 7 percent; and Georgia, down 1 percent.