MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Buying a dozen eggs is leading to sticker shock for many around Wisconsin as the price continues to rise. 

What You Need To Know

  • Egg prices continue to rise 

  • Small producers are seeing an increase in demand

  • It is difficult to quickly scale up production

  • Small producers have also faced increased operating costs

According to the latest Consumer Price Index, egg prices are up nearly 60% from this time last year. As the supply of eggs proves challenging at grocery stores, many shoppers are turning to smaller producers to source their eggs. 

Paul Marx owns The Egg Shack in Menomonee Falls, northwest of Milwaukee. Raising chickens and selling eggs is not his full-time job, but lately he has seen demand soar. 

“More people are going back to the natural ways for garden fresh vegetables, farm fresh chickens, farm fresh eggs, it is coming back a little bit more,” said Marx.

Marx said despite increased demand, he can’t ramp up production. Even if you obtain more chickens, it will take time for them to mature. 

“You can’t control how many chickens are laying. They have a mind of their own. Some are producing really good. Usually, I get one egg a day per chicken. It takes about 24 hours to produce an egg,” said Marx.

While the Avian Flu concerns impacting large producers have escaped Marx, he still has to deal with changing market conditions. Recently, he needed to increase his prices due to the rising cost of doing business. 

“I did not raise my prices because of the grocery store reason. I just had to raise them because of the feed bill and I am paying $200 more on feed a month than I used to pay three years ago,” said Marx.

Still, Marx said he will keep on running at full capacity in order to keep customers satisfied.  

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