“I never pay more than .39-cents a dozen when I need to buy store-bought eggs. Which is maybe twice a year in the winter months when the girls shut down production. (I have laying hens.)”
Where do you live, in the Boonies? The last time I saw eggs for .39-cents was about 15 years ago. Come to any urban area and you will never find 39 cent eggs. Either you live in an impoverished area of the country, or you just aren’t in tune with prices at the typical supermarket in the U.S. today. They are a heck of a lot higher than you claim they are. Come to my neck of the woods (Chicago suburb) and check out the prices, for a reality-check.
Geeze. Bitter about the price of eggs, are we? LOL!
Yes. I really CAN get them for 39 cents a dozen. My local grocer puts them on sale a number of times a year at that price, and that’s the only time I buy them. Check the prices in your local stores around Easter-time. They use cheap eggs (for dying with the kids) as “Loss Leaders” to get you in the door to buy all the other stuff you need for Easter Dinner. At other times, if you buy Bacon and OJ, they’ll give you a carton of eggs for FREE.
I raise laying hens for egg sales. I KNOW egg prices, believe me. And if the Yuppies in my area want to pay $4.50 a dozen (retail) for my boutique eggs, more power to Little Old Farmgal Capitalist ME! :) They are beautiful eggs. Cage-free, Free-ranged, organically-fed (though not certified) from Happy Hens. I sell them in clear cartons. The eggs are brown, pink, cream, green, blush, etc. from Araucana hens, which are originally from South America. Martha Stewart raises them, and designed a whole pallet of paint colors around them.
They are irresistible to ‘Foodies.’ :)
But you are correct. Prices do vary by region:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/poultry/mncs/SHELL.HTM
And, you’re getting ripped off by your grocer if you’re paying through the nose for everyday, white, farm factory produced eggs. Midwest egg prices (which should include ChicagoLand) are running about 92-cents per dozen right now:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/nw_py018.txt