NORFOLK, Va. -- As Texas suffered through some of the worst winter weather in years, the financial news outlet Bloomberg pointed to a new potential problem: Lower production of eggs and poultry. Its report pointed out the storm forced one farm to throw away 700,000 eggs and euthanize more than 500,000 of its animals.
"The events down in Texas are truly horrific, and our hearts go out to them,” Michael Wallace, the Communications Director with the Virginia Department of Agriculture, said.
Poultry farming is also big business in Virginia. The Commonwealth, even locally near Hampton Roads, has a handful of poultry farms.
"Chicken broilers is Virginia's number one commodity,” Wallace said. “To take a step back from that, agriculture is the state's largest industry."
Meanwhile, the United States Department of Agriculture reported seeing an increase in egg prices. The report was published on Friday. Large, white grade-A eggs rose about seven percent in price, according to the report.
The USDA’s report also said the winter storms "led to uneven consumer purchasing patterns,” but that should normalize as conditions get better.
As per price increases, Wallace said people may not notice as much right away.
"I think it's a little too early to tell, but we don't expect too much of an increase if any because, again, Virginia produces a lot of the products that may be affected."
