Cage-free

Cage-free egg premium

The national cage-free minus conventional large white loose spread, USDA, cents per dozen

Data through Oct 13, 2026 · source last checked Oct 13, 2026 · page revised Oct 13, 2026

Cite

Cage-free carries a -14.5¢/doz premium over conventional right now (-37%), USDA national large white, as of Oct 13, 2026. The Scramble. https://the-scramble.com/cagefree/premium

¢/doz

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  <img src="https://the-scramble.com/charts/cagefree/premium/chart.png" alt="National large white: cage-free vs conventional (¢/dozen) — Oct 13, 2026" width="720" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0"/>
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<p style="font-size:12px;margin:4px 0 0">Source: <a href="https://the-scramble.com/cagefree/premium?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=credit">The Scramble</a> · updates automatically</p>
<p style="font-size:11px;color:#6b6b6b;margin:2px 0 0">About this data: USDA AMS Egg Market News, Daily National Shell Egg Index · National cage-free minus conventional, large white loose · Loose · National · ¢/doz · 5-day weighted average, both legs · through Oct 13, 2026</p>

Free to republish with attribution. The chart updates automatically as new data lands.

About this data

Source: USDA AMS Egg Market News, Daily National Shell Egg Index
Series: National cage-free minus conventional, large white loose
Basis: Loose
Geography: National
Unit: ¢/doz
Calculation: 5-day weighted average, both legs
Last observation: Oct 13, 2026
Update frequency: Daily (business days)

Cage-free carries a -14.5¢/doz premium over conventional right now (-37%): cage-free 25.0¢/doz vs conventional 39.5¢/doz, USDA, Oct 13, 2026.

Cage-free has fallen to a -14.5¢/doz premium, trading below conventional (cage-free 25.0¢/doz, conventional 39.5¢/doz). The spread has fallen 78.3% year over year from a 115¢ cage-free advantage. Week over week the premium dropped 21.9% from 32.0¢/doz.

The numbers
Period	Current	Prior	Change
Week over week	25.0¢/doz	32.0¢/doz	-21.9%
Month over month	25.0¢/doz	26.8¢/doz	-6.8%
Year over year	25.0¢/doz	115¢/doz	-78.3%

Previous weeks

Week of Oct 6, 2026

Cage-free carries a -14.0¢/doz premium to conventional, meaning cage-free sells 14 cents per dozen cheaper than conventional. Year over year, cage-free has fallen from 105¢/doz to 32.0¢/doz, inverting the structural cage-free premium as the segment now trades at a discount. Month over month, cage-free rose 11.6 percent from 28.7¢/doz.

Week of Sep 29, 2026

Cage-free is at a -16.0¢/doz premium, priced at 29.0¢/doz against conventional at 45.0¢/doz. Week over week it fell 23.4% from 37.9¢/doz. Year-over-year it is down 71% from 100¢/doz.

Week of Sep 22, 2026

Cage-free carries a 3.1¢/doz premium over conventional, with cage-free at 38.1¢/doz. Cage-free prices have fallen 74.6 percent year-over-year from 150¢/doz and retreated 15.3 percent month-over-month, though they rebounded 39.5 percent in the past week.

Week of Sep 15, 2026

Cage-free now trades below conventional at a -8.2¢/doz premium: 27.3¢/doz versus 35.5¢/doz. Month over month the cage-free price fell 30.2%, and year over year it has fallen 88.9%.

About Cage-free egg premium

The cage-free premium is what a buyer pays over conventional (caged) eggs for cage-free. It is structural and widening over time as state mandates and retailer commitments move demand, but it swings: when a supply shock lifts conventional prices, the premium compresses, and it re-widens as conventional eases. This page computes the premium as the difference between the two USDA national large white loose benchmarks, never a stored number.