The day is observed on the second Friday every October
By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com
Egg lovers around the world are showing their appreciation for the poultry product as part of World Egg Day.
During the 1996 International Egg Commission in Vienna, Austria, officials agreed the second Friday in October would be recognized as World Egg Day.
And World Egg Day wouldn’t be possible without farmers.
There are about 313 million laying hens in the U.S., according to the American Egg Board. The hens have a daily production rate of about 76 eggs per 100 layers.
American egg farmers produced 102 billion eggs and $6.48 billion in economic impact in 2016, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The top three egg-producing states in 2016 were:
1. Iowa – 53,408,000 eggs
2. Indiana – 31,697,000 eggs
3. Ohio - 29,667,000 eggs
Egg farmers also play an important role in Canada.
There are more than 1,000 egg farms across the country, according to Egg Farmers of Canada. These farmers produce more than 595 million eggs contribute about $1.4 billion to the Canadian economy each year.
The top three egg-producing provinces in 2016 were:
1. Ontario – 280,920,000 dozen
2. Quebec – 140,499,000 dozen
3. British Columbia – 90,941,000 dozen
But the top-producing egg country in the world is in Asia.
Chinese farmers produce 36 percent of the global egg production, according to the International Egg Commission.
Rounding out the top five are:
2. United States – 8.3 percent of global egg production
3. India – 5.6 percent of global egg production
4. Japan/Mexico – 3.7 percent of global egg production
5. Russia – 3.3 percent of global egg production
Farms.com would like to extend a thank you to all egg farmers on World Egg Day!