Two-thirds of U.S. flock must be cage free to meet demand

Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. layer flock will need to be housed in cage-free system by 2025 to meet anticipated demand, according to figures published by United Egg Producers. On October 7, the egg farmer cooperative published an updated report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Analytics Division estimating 213.8 million cage-free hens, about 74 percent of the 276 million layers in the U.S., will need to be cage free by 2026.  Currently, there are 16.6 million non-organic, cage-free layers in the U.S. The flock must increase by more than 1,000 percent in a decade to serve the retailers, restaurants and foodservice companies committed to serve only cage-free eggs by or around 2025. “USDA’s figures … indicate a shortage of nearly 200 million hens to meet the growing demand over the next 10 years,” the newsletter said.