Michigan's cage-free law: Why eggs are more expensive - and harder to find

DETROIT (FOX 2) - With the turn of the calendar, eggs in Michigan seemed to disappear from the shelves – as if a snowstorm was coming and people were stocking up. At the same time, the price seemed to have soared. 

So what caused the vanishing act of the eggs and your money? As with everything, there's not a simple answer – but instead a perfect storm of events that led to, what is hopefully, a temporary shortage.

By the numbers:

The price of a dozen eggs in the United States are up 38% over the past year – with the average price at $3.65 nationwide for a dozen eggs. This is down a bit from January 2023 when a dozen was $4.82 but they're climbing back up again.

Here in Michigan, Kroger and Meijer both have a dozen eggs listed at $3.99 for a store-label dozen. And it may get worse before it gets better. 

Wholesale egg prices, which jumped nearly 55% as recently as November, do not necessarily reflect consumer egg prices at the grocery stores, which can vary widely. 

The Consumer Price Index reported that grocery prices rose half a percent in November. As a group, meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.7%. But eggs alone rose 8.2%.

Factors like egg supply and the bird flu are part of the problem. But in Michigan, it's even bigger as a 2019 law went into place on January 1.

The backstory:

Michigan's 2019 legislature passed a law that required shell eggs sold in Michigan to be from cage-free housing for all eggs that come from farms with over 3,000 egg-laying hens.

This means that small-scale farms that sell eggs are exempt from the law. However, large-scale operations that largely supply our grocery stores must abide by the laws.

The law requires any business who sells eggs ensure the item meets the state requirements. 

Timeline:

The law was first introduced to the Michigan legislature in March 2019 as Senate Bill 174 by Republican Senator Kevin Daley.

Over the course of the next few months, it worked its way through the Republican-controlled legislature and was ultimately signed by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer on November 19, 2019. 

However, the law gave business-owners five years to be compliant and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Dig deeper:

It's not just Michigan's cage-free law that is making eggs hard to find.

Daley told MIRS that he believes the price increases and shortages are unrelated to the cage-free laws. Instead, he points to the combination of avian flu and inflation.

Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute Sector Manager Kevin Bergquist said in November that egg prices have been elevated since 2023 due to the combination of seasonal price increases during the holidays and disruption in egg supply due to bird flu.

Prior to the large bird flu outbreak in March 2022, flock numbers were at a level that supported lower egg prices, according to Bergquist. He noted the wholesale price was less than $1.50 per dozen. 

What does cage-free mean?:

Cage-free does not mean free-range

Under the law, hens must be free to roam, unrestricted. But the hens could still be enclosed indoors. Free-range chickens are allowed to roam where they please. 

As the law in Michigan requires, hens that are laying eggs may not be confined to cages that include:

• Battery cages
• Colony cages
• Enriches cages
• Enriched colony cages
• Or any cage system similar

Additionally, operators cannot tether or confine hens that prevent them from lying down, standing, extending limbs, or turning around freely.