Egg Prices Increase; Local Farm Impacted By Nationwide Shortage

The price of eggs is skyrocketing. A dozen eggs is going to cost over $5 at the store because of a nationwide shortage.

Green Acres 918 is a poultry farm in Broken Arrow that started during the pandemic.

"We were nervous about the rise in food costs,” said Brandon Green, the head farmer at Green Acres 918. “We didn't want to be beholden to the grocery stores so we decided, 'Hey, let's just start our own flock.'"

However, Green said the rise in chicken feed prices is having a ripple effect, and that sometimes the food is worth more than the chicken itself.

"Feed is so expensive, it makes it too much to feed these animals,” said Green. “So just the farmer has to increase the price of the egg so they can keep feeding them."

Green said the high prices have been a long time coming.

"I think it's been going on for a little while now,” said Green. “And I don't expect it to go away any time soon."

It’s also changed the way the farm operates.

"We're changing our business model,” said Green. “Now we allow people to come out to the farm, feed the animals, play games, actually interact with the farm experience."

One of the things that has helped their farm is working with restaurants who give their leftover food to the animals.

"One of the things that we do is we partner with other restaurants,” said Green. “They can donate their discarded waste, their food, to the farm and we just feed it to the animals. They love it, they eat it up."

He said this situation has caused farmers to take a long look at their farms and decide if it’s in their best interest to continue.

"You have to be willing to change, or grow, or go out of business,” said Green.

Another reason for the egg shortage is an outbreak of the Avian flu. But Green said luckily, that hasn’t been an issue for Green Acres 918.

If you own a restaurant and are interested in donating extra food to Green Acres 918, you are encouraged to contact them. You can click here to access their website.