Look for Dog Food Prices to Rise

Is I predicted some time back, pressure put on the egg industry by the "humane" movement has resulted in wholesale disruption of the California egg market.

A new law which goes into effect on January 1, means that egg laying chickens have to get about twice as much space as they did before.

Rather than build new multi-million dollar sheds, most farmers are simply putting half as many hens in the same cages.

What that means is that there are a lot fewer egg-laying hens in California, and the new law prevents eggs from being imported from neighboring states where more crowded chickens are still the norm.

With fewer egg laying chickens in California, the price of eggs is skyrocketing, which means a likely rise in the price of dog food.

The reason? 

Old egg-laying hens, which are too tough to be sold as meat, are the primary protein ingredient in dog food.

Fewer young hens means there will soon be fewer old hens, which means price increases in the dog food aisle.

In the long run, some big-volume egg producers in other states, such as Iowa, are likely to follow the California hen-space laws in order to be able to sell eggs in that market.  When that happens, look for higher-cost dog food to be a permanent fixture.