Fire at Minnesota Farm Could Add to Egg Shortage in the U.S.

In May, there was a fire at a commercial egg farm in Minnesota that left thousands of chickens dead. Fortunately, the fire incident didn't lead to the loss of human lives. The egg farm fire comes at a time when some areas have been witnessing an egg shortage. What caused the fire at Forsman Farms? Was it an accident or intentional?

There have been intermittent shortages of several food products over the last two years. Eggs, chicken, and meat have also seen supply disruptions. There have been several instances of food processing plant fires, which some saw as a conspiracy to create a food shortage in the U.S.

However, fire incidents at food processing plants aren't uncommon. The conspiracy theories, including that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was arrested as he was involved in the conspiracy, are false.

That said, conspiracy theories continue to dominate public discourse and some even believe that Warren Buffett and BlackRock are deliberately creating a DEF (diesel exhaust fuel) shortage in the U.S. In reality, both Buffett and BlackRock are net losers if the DEF shortage worsens and grounds the country’s trucks.

A fire occurred at Forsman Farms in Howard Lake, Minn. on May 29. The incident, which took place late at night, caused significant damage to the facility. A spokesperson for Forsman Farms said, “Overnight, a fire destroyed one of our barns at our Howard Lake farm. No one was injured and we are grateful that first responders were quickly on the scene to put out the fire.”

The spokesperson added, "Unfortunately, chickens were lost because of the fire. We are evaluating the extent of the damage — which appears to be confined to a single structure — as well as investigating the cause of the fire."

The Wright County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case. However, the fire appears to be accidental and no foul play is suspected. According to Fox9, the barn that houses chickens and manure caused the fire.

Meanwhile, the fire at the egg farm comes a few weeks after millions of chickens were culled in the U.S. due to bird flu. Cage-free mandates from California and Massachusetts are also added to the egg shortage situation in the U.S.

According to Forsman Farms, it can produce 3 million eggs per day and calls its offline farm “the most modern and technologically innovative in North America.” The company has been in business for over a century and four generations of the family have been involved in the business. Forsman Farms supplies eggs to leading retailers and food companies including McDonald's.

According to an FDA report dated June 3, which had details of egg demand and supply for the previous week, “Wholesale prices for cartoned shell eggs steadied and held through the week as supplies declined to mixed levels for continued light to moderate demand."

However, the report added that due to the egg supply situation, retailers are limiting promotional activity for conventional shell eggs. The report also added that in April, the average volume of frozen eggs was 8 percent below March and 7 percent lower than the 2021 levels.