Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 6/3/20

Iowa lawmakers and officials sent a letter to Secretary Sonny Perdue on Tuesday asking the USDA chief to send more support for the state’s egg farmers. The group said about 70 percent of Iowa’s egg-laying flocks sell to the liquid egg market, which has been crushed by the closure of schools and restaurants. It’s distinct from the shell egg market, which actually saw a temporary boost when the pandemic started, said Gov. Kim Reynolds, Ag Secretary Mike Naig and Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, all Republicans.

Ag producers that weren’t explicitly included in the USDA aid package can still qualify for payments if they demonstrate that their commodity prices have fallen by 5 percent or more since January. In the letter to Perdue, the Iowa officials said liquid egg prices have dropped by more than 68 percent since mid-January, citing data from USDA itself and similar estimates from market analysts.

The FDA early on tried to help producers by easing regulations to divert eggs from the crumbling liquid market to the more stable shell egg side. But it wasn’t a solution for farmers whose flocks were ineligible because of hen age limits or those who lacked the proper egg packaging equipment.

By the numbers: Iowa’s egg industry accounts for $2.6 billion in economic activity and supplies one of every six eggs consumed in the U.S., according to the letter.