The egg industry is one that has changed over the years from many smaller producers to one that is highly centralized and more specialized. In the early years of American agriculture, many farmers had chickens and collected eggs for their own use or for sale to friends, neighbors and the local grocer. Today, layers are not found on many of the farms but are found in larger numbers on fewer farms.

Prior to World War II, most egg production came from farm flocks of less than 400 hens. By the early 1960s, improved technology and the development of sophisticated mechanical equipment were responsible for a shift from small farm flocks to larger commercial operations. In the major egg-producing states, flocks of 100,000 laying hens are common, and some flocks number more than 1 million. Each of the 344 million laying birds in the United States produces from 250 to 300 eggs a year.  May 2008 . . . Eggs

Marketing

• American Egg Board - This association serves “to allow egg producers to fund and carry out proactive programs to increase markets for eggs, egg products, and spent fowl products through promotion, research and education.”
• Assessment of Market Opportunities for Omega 3 Eggs, Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, 2003 - Research identifies specific market opportunities and challenges associated with egg product differentiation, especially the omega 3 egg.
• Economic Importance of the Iowa Egg Industry, Department of Economics, Iowa State University, 2003.
• Egg Industry Information Sources, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Australia - A research report that provides information on where to find statistics and data for the egg industry from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
• Eggs (Domestic Production and International Trade Information), FSAonline, USDA.
• An Initial Analysis of Adoption of Animal Welfare Guidelines on the U.S. Egg Industry, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), Iowa State University. 
• Official U.S. Government Avian Flu Website - Provides one-stop access to U.S. government information on avian flu. Also, see USDA Avian Flu Information for USDA-sponsored information on avian flu.
• Poultry and Eggs, Briefing Room, ERS, USDA. 
• Poultry Market News, USDA - Covers supply, demand and price situation on a regional, national and international basis for poultry, poultry products, eggs and egg products.
• United Egg Producers - This association focuses on poultry markets and other industry information.
• USA Poultry & Egg Export Council - A nonprofit, industry-sponsored trade organization that provides export services related to trade leads, a listing of international trade shows, and industry resources.
• U.S. Poultry & Egg Association - This trade association represents the entire poultry industry, including producers of broilers, turkeys, ducks, eggs and breeding stock, as well as allied companies. The association also sponsors the International Poultry Exposition and provides a “Searchable Database” of over 860 industry exhibitors.
• U.S. 2003 and 2004 Livestock and Poultry Trade Influenced by Animal Disease and Trade Restrictions, Economic Research Service, USDA, 2004 - This report discusses how animal diseases and disease-related trade restrictions have influenced trade in animal products in the last few years, with emphasis on 2003 and forecasts for 2004. The most important animal diseases that have affected trade in animal products in recent years have included Avian Influenza (AI) and Exotic Newcastle Disease (END).
• Vertical Coordination in the Pork and Broiler Industries: Implications for Pork and Chicken Products, Economic Research Service, USDA, 1999 - This 48-page report compares vertical coordination changes in the U.S. pork to the U.S. broiler industry.
• Vertical Coordination of Marketing Systems: Lessons from the Poultry, Egg and Pork Industries, Economic Research Service, USDA, 2002 - This 45-page report reviews how these three industries placed a premium on quality control and information to improve the control of production.

Processing/Manufacturing

• Federal Inspection Programs, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA - Programs for inspection and monitoring of all meat, poultry and egg products sold in interstate and foreign commerce to ensure compliance with mandatory U.S. food safety standards and inspection legislation. Includes information for and about processing establishments.
• The USDA's FSIS provides guidelines and regulations relative to egg handling and processing. See the Egg Safety, the Egg Products Inspection Act and Key Facts for the Enforcement of Refrigeration and Labeling Requirements for Shell Eggs Packed for Consumer Use for more specific information.
• National Food Safety Programs: Egg Safety is a listing of relative information provided by the Food and Drug Administration, the USDA, the U.S. EPA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Packing Eggs on the Farm for Direct Sales, Kansas State University - Publication that guides producers in the niche of direct marketing eggs.
• Risk Assessments of Salmonella in Eggs and Broiler Chickens, World Health Organization, 2002 - This publication provides insight into the background, practices, guidance and research of the exposure risks of salmonella in production and processing of broilers and egg products.

Production

• Commercial Egg Production and Processing, Purdue University -  Publication designed as an overview of typical layer management and commercial egg production in the United States. It contains text regarding raising layers, hatching and placement, lighting and temperature, feeding and egg collection and processing.
• Designer and Specialty Eggs, University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service, 2000 - A fact sheet that provides basic information about the types of niche egg products such as pharmaceuticals, fatty content and vitamin-enhanced eggs.
• Flax in Egg Production, Flax Council of Canada - This fact sheet provides information about why flaxseed is important as a feed additive for use in the production of eggs high in omega-3 fatty acids, because alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is the major component in flaxseed.
• Getting a Good Egg, Market to Market, Iowa Public Television - Information from the USDA Agricultural Research Service on a newly developed oil emulsion vaccine to reduce the possibility of salmonella in chicken eggs.
• Guidelines for Prospective Contract Hatching Egg Producers, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, 2002 - This publication provides guidelines for examining the egg hatchery business, with financial, management and other considerations and regulations.
• Increasing Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Eggs from Small Chicken Flocks, Manitoba Agriculture and Food, Animal Industry Branch - This fact sheet lists a suggested laying hen ration that will increase omega 3 fatty acids in the eggs from those hens. 
• Management Requirements for Laying Flocks, Virginia Cooperative Extension - A small flock fact sheet with basic production information.
• Online Poultry News - Provides an index to many articles specific to egg production and layer management published by various educational institutions. 
• Poultry Extension Site, Purdue University - Provides information on production and management of all kinds of poultry.

Businesses/Case Studies

• American Grassfed Association - This site provides range poultry producer’s opportunities to network with similar producers and to investigate marketing alternatives for this niche.
• The Changing Face of Functional Foods, Functional Foods for Health Program, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois - This research report has extensive information on eggs such as omega 3 eggs and eggs high in Vitamin E.
• Golden Oval Eggs - A prime example of a Midwestern value-added cooperative created, owned and managed by farmers. Their expansion into new markets and their innovative vision has created continued growth.

 Links checked February 2008.