(Coffee Time) The grand tragedy of egg prices

Eggs are Expensive :(

Eggs prices have been the highest they have been in a long time. Like just about everything else egg prices went up with inflation in 2022. However as inflation has eased, egg prices have remained high. The reason for this is an avian influenza virus or bird flu. So far, there have been 57 million chickens killed by the bird flu across 47 states. As a result of the great loss of chickens there has been a shortage of eggs, and less eggs means higher prices.

Prairie Snow Fences?

Farmers are getting paid to leave rows of corn by the road to act as a snow fence (also known as a windbreak). Snow fences have been around for a really long time, but in recent years there has been an increase of them in Iowa thanks to a relatively new DOT program. The Iowa DOT will pay people to make these natural fences because it saves them money from clearing snow. Snow fences also have other benefits such as better visibility and less crosswind, helping create a safer driving environment.

Is Tesla Threatening Agriculture?
Many people are concerned about Tesla and other electric vehicle manufactures taking away from the Iowa corn economy. In our current state most cars use ethanol as fuel, and so 57% of our corn is turned into ethanol. However as technology advances and the concern for climate grows the United States is starting to see a huge shift to electric vehicles. Due to this the need for ethanol is slowly dropping and some people are concerned about what this means for Iowa’s future economy, but others believe that Iowa will be able to grow its economy alongside this changing world and continue to keep up.

To hear the full podcast, check out episode 23.