CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – $1.61. That was the average price for a dozen eggs in April 2007 ahead of the Easter holiday, roughly a 25% increase from the year prior.

That number is a far cry from 2025’s average of $6.22 — a $3 jump from last year — according to the U.S. Labor Bureau of Statistics, but was still a shell shocker for families at the time.

The price didn’t deter families from stocking up ahead of the Sunday hunt, though.

Hy-Vee manager Brian Wills told TV9’s Josh Hinkle he couldn’t keep his shelves stocked fast enough.

“You have a lot more use and it’s not like a farmer can tell his egg-laying hens ‘Hey, come on produce a lot more eggs,’” Wills said.

A bird flu outbreak is the main driver behind this year’s record-high prices, but in 2007 corn was the culprit. Demand for corn to make ethanol increased the cost of feed for egg producers.

“It’s a market we haven’t seen all that often in my career, but you’ve got demands for biodiesel and ethanol,” farmer Denny Sejkora said. “Food industry is competing with the fuel industry in this particular case.”

According to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, the state has nearly tripled its ethanol production over the last 20 years from 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol in 2006 to nearly 4.4 billion gallons in 2024.

The American Egg Board said egg purchases increased in 2006 nearly 33% in the week leading up to Easter compared to the average week.

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