DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A monthly report on egg production and chicken flocks reveals the depth of the impact of bird flu on the nation's egg producers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in a report released Monday that May's national table egg production fell 6½ percent from last year to 6.86 billion eggs. Laying hen numbers fell 8 percent to 329 million as of June 1.
Iowa, the nation's egg leader, saw egg production fall 28 percent from year ago and 21 percent in a month as bird flu swept through flocks.
The state produced 1 billion eggs in May, the lowest monthly number since February 2005.
More than 31 million Iowa birds have died since mid-April. Egg layers on hand in May totaled 44.2 million, down 26 percent from a year ago.