Egg prices hit more than $6 a dozen last year and every American felt it.
Now the companies responsible are paying for it – with 6 million eggs going straight to Florida families.
And Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier just announced something that the egg cartel never wanted to happen.
The Scheme That Picked Your Pocket at Every Grocery Run
Cal-Maine Foods, Versova, and Hickman's Egg Ranch weren't just cashing in on bird flu.
They were running a coordinated scam behind the scenes – manipulating the price index that determines what you pay for eggs at every grocery store in America.
The target was Urner Barry Publications, the company that publishes the daily egg price benchmarks used by grocers, restaurants, and retailers nationwide.
The three producers coordinated the bids they submitted to Urner Barry's clearinghouse, artificially inflating those benchmark numbers from June 2022 through March 2025.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2095210362014474486?s=20
The result: you paid more for eggs every single week – not just because of bird flu, but because the biggest players in the industry rigged the game.
Cal-Maine alone pocketed $1.2 billion in profit during fiscal 2025.
To put that in perspective – the company's settlement penalty for years of market manipulation was $3.3 million split across 17 states.
Florida's cut: $348,490.
How Uthmeier Turned a Slap on the Wrist Into Real Relief
Uthmeier looked at that number and did something no bureaucrat would do.
He negotiated something better: 5.67 million Grade A eggs – 472,500 dozen – delivered in 21 tractor-trailers to food banks in all 67 Florida counties.
"Eggs are a breakfast staple, not a luxury," Uthmeier said. "When the price of a carton goes up, working families feel it every week at the checkout line. Today 5.67 million eggs are moving to food banks and pantries in every Florida county – at no cost to households, food banks, or taxpayers."
The egg companies covered packaging, loading, unloading, and every mile of delivery.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2095172877246951680?s=20
“The settlement also includes five years of rules designed to keep grocery egg prices honest going forward,” a press release read. “Bidding and trading decisions must be grounded in legitimate business needs. Each company must designate an antitrust compliance officer. Government agencies retain the right to inspect records and interview personnel.”
The distribution runs through Feeding Florida's nine affiliate food banks and roughly 2,500 partner agencies stretching from Pensacola to Key West.
The final truck pulled in Wednesday.
Why This Is Bigger Than 5.7 Million Eggs
This is how accountability is supposed to work.
The moment the three companies learned the DOJ was telling them to preserve documents, their benchmark submissions changed – and prices that had reached $6.23 a dozen cratered to under $2.20 per dozen by May 2026.
They knew exactly what they had done.
Not because bird flu disappeared.
Because the cartel got caught and stopped manipulating the market.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2095154757757460797?s=20
Uthmeier joined the lawsuit in December 2025 and pushed for a resolution that delivered tangible results to actual Florida families rather than a bureaucratic settlement check gathering dust in Tallahassee.
Florida's Farmers Feeding Florida program – backed by $35 million from state lawmakers this year – is built on exactly this model: getting real food to people who need it, fast, without the government skimming the top.
The egg companies made $1.2 billion, paid $348,490, and figured they were done with Florida.
They were wrong – and they spent weeks covering the cost of delivering that lesson door to door.
Sources:
- Wyatte Grantham-Philips, "Egg Producers Will Pay $3.3M and Donate 53 Million Eggs to Settle Price Fixing Claims," Associated Press, June 30, 2026.
- Michael Costeines, "James Uthmeier Announces Delivery of Over 5.6M Eggs Following Settlement," September 2, 2026.
- "Egg Processor Tops $1 Billion in Net Income for Fiscal 2025," Food Business News, July 2025.
- Fox 49 Staff, "Florida Distributing 5.7 Million Eggs to Families After Price-Fixing Settlement," September 2, 2026.
