According to a January 2026 report for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) there has been rapid growth in the number of small egg producers in the last five years. As of January 2026, there are 4,605 egg producers registered in the USA – 993 are classified as large producers since they have 50,000 or more laying hens while 3,612 are classified as small producers having 49,999 or less hens. That is over three times as many small producers as there are large. This does not include the unregistered backyard producers. 43% of the current small producers registered with FDA in the last five years. Of the small producers registered, those with 10,000 – 25,000 laying hens represented the large segment, having more than double the number of registrations as those in other size categories.
In response to the recent growth in the number of registered small egg producers, FDA has formed a working group focused on outreach and education for the producers. The initial goals of the working group include listening sessions with egg handles and consolidators as well as handling regional meetings for small producers. From this, they hope to develop a standardized curriculum that could lead to FDA recognized training programs. It is important to remember that the rules are not applied differently based on farm size – all producers must comply with the same federal egg safety regulations regardless of size.
Source: WattPoultry article dated January 27, 2026 – “Small US egg farms drive FDA registration growth located on www.wattagnet.com