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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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The Trump administration's secretary of agriculture, Brooke Rollins, suggested Americans keep chickens in their back yards in response to surging egg prices on Sunday during a Fox News appearance.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Agriculture for comment on Tuesday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
Egg prices in the United States have surged over the past couple of months, from $3.42 for a dozen on January 10 to $8.03 on February 26, according to Department of Agriculture figures. This has been damaging for Trump who argued that President Joe Biden's policies had caused grocery prices to surge ahead of the 2024 election.
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What to Know
Rollins discussed egg prices on Sunday during a discussion with Fox & Friends Weekend host Rachel Campos-Duffy, who is married to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
She said: "I think the silver lining for all this is how do we in our back yards, we've got chickens too in our back yard, how do we solve something like this and people are sort of looking around and thinking 'wow maybe I could get a chicken in my back yard and it's awesome.'"
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Campos-Duffy agreed, commenting: "I think everyone who isn't a farmer right now wants to be so you're in the right department Brooke."
According to the Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, the price of retail eggs rose by 8.4 percent in December 2024 and 13.8 percent in January 2025. The service predicts egg prices will rise by 41.1 percent throughout 2025.
This increase was attributed to an ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which according to USA Today has forced farmers to slaughter an estimated 166 million birds, including laying hens.
On February 26, the Trump administration unveiled a $1.5 billion plan to combat rising egg prices, including $500 million for biosecurity measures, $400 million for farmers impacted by HPAI and $100 million for medical and vaccine research into the disease.
Rollins also said the administration was negotiating to import 70-100 million eggs from abroad, but warned prices could rise further in the run-up to the Easter holiday when demand usually increases.
What People Are Saying
Trump addressed American farmers via Truth Social on Monday one day before fresh tariffs targeting produce from Canada, Mexico and China came into effect.
He said: "To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!"
During a cabinet meeting on February 26, Trump said: "These eggs are a disaster. The secretary of agriculture is going to be showing you a chart that's actually mindboggling what's happened. How low they were with us [in the first Trump term], how high they are now. I think we can do something about it."
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, published on February 26, Rollins wrote: "The Agriculture Department will invest up to $1 billion to curb this crisis and make eggs affordable again. We are working with the Department of Government Efficiency to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of wasteful spending."
What Happens Next
If egg prices continue to rise it would could embarrass the Trump administration, with the president campaigning heavily on grocery prices during the 2024 election contest. Conversely, any fall would be a major boost, particularly after the large financial package announced by Rollins last week.
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