# Cage-Free Large White Loose Reaches 38.1 Cents on 39.5% Weekly Gain _Sep 22, 2026_ > Cage-free large white loose eggs rose 39.5% to 38.1 cents a dozen, putting the cage-free premium at 3.1 cents per dozen (9%) over the 35.0-cent conventional benchmark. No HPAI detections in 60 days per APHIS. _Numbers as of Sep 22, 2026 pull._ National cage-free large white loose eggs reached **38.1 cents a dozen** this week, up 39.5% from 27.3 cents a week ago, per USDA. The conventional large white benchmark held steady at **35.0 cents**, per USDA's Sep 18 Egg Markets Overview. The cage-free premium stands at 3.1 cents per dozen (9%) over conventional, per USDA. [Chart: National white large shell egg price (loose, ¢/dozen)](https://the-scramble.com/national/large-white) ([data](https://the-scramble.com/national/large-white.md) — chart image: https://the-scramble.com/charts/national/large-white/chart.png) - **Large brown conventional loose, national: 110.0 cents**, up 15.8% week over week from 95.0 cents, per USDA. - **Extra large white conventional loose, national: 37.9 cents**, down 9.7% week over week from 41.9 cents. - **New York large white, delivered store door: 82.0 cents**, down 1.2% week over week from 83.0 cents. New York extra large white dropped to 84.0 cents on the same basis, down 1.2% from 85.0 cents, per USDA. - **Midwest conventional shell egg inventory: 586 thousand cases**, 15% above the five-year median and up 5% on the week, per USDA. - **Northwest conventional shell egg inventory: 60.4 thousand cases**, up 13.3% on the week but still 9% below the five-year median, the furthest below normal of any tracked region, per USDA. - **Southwest conventional shell egg inventory: 120 thousand cases**, down 17.2% on the week and 1% below the five-year median, the largest weekly draw of any tracked region, per USDA. APHIS has confirmed no HPAI detections in commercial egg-layer flocks in the past 60 days. U.S. total shell egg inventory stood at 1,482 thousand cases as of Sep 21, 0.4% above the trailing four-week average, per USDA. Retail feature activity rose on the week, with cage-free types leading promotions and the average conventional caged ad price up one cent to $1.42 per dozen, per USDA's Sep 18 Egg Markets Overview. *Data note: 54 series covering California cage-free brown and diet-specialty large white cage-free segments have not updated in over two weeks. Figures from those specific series are not reported this issue.* --- Canonical URL: https://the-scramble.com/issues/2026-09-22