Despite inclement and icy weather conditions in Atlanta, the United Egg Producers’ 2026 January meeting was well attended with more than 300 UEP members, UEA members, and industry stakeholders participating in the annual event. UEP quickly pivoted to a hybrid meeting format to engage members both onsite, at the Omni Atlanta Hotel, and remotely to accommodate attendees whose travel plans were negatively impacted across the nation.

Discussion was plentiful, both in person and online, as Chair JT Dean moderated the January 27th session that navigated topics ranging from membership renewal and dues to strategic planning and recent collaborative efforts between UEP and the American Egg Board. In addition to accepting the Treasurer’s report, a motion was passed to implement a policy to affirm vacated UEP board seats are non-transferrable within companies.

Committee reports on government relations, animal welfare, food safety, environment and sustainability, and animal health and biosecurity were bookended by a special presentation made by the Egg Farmers of Canada on Vaccination Trial and a discussion led by Dr. Craig Rowles on the proposed HPAI Vaccination Pilot Program in the U.S.

UEP’s new Vice President of Government Affairs Donald Grady was introduced by Committee Chair Brian Kreher at the Government Relations Issues Briefing and Committee Meeting. Grady discussed recent Washington developments including UEP’s new DC office and the beginning stages of the Congressional Egg Caucus. In addition to an HPAI vaccination timeline and update, the committee’s comprehensive overview included news on hatchery surplus, in-ovo sexing and immigration legislation, alongside updates on the Farm Bill, EATS Act, and Dietary Guidelines. The committee also determined topics for May 2025 position papers including HPAI, labor and immigration, and halting progress on the Lowering Egg Prices Act Free-Range and Pasture certification. In closing, the UEP Board motioned to continue USDA’s involvement with UEP Certified by requesting that they conduct assessments of the UEP Certified Guidelines and Procedures and conduct yearly on-farm assessments of approved auditing firms.

Committee Vice Chair Sandra Lausecker led the Animal Welfare Issues Briefing and Committee Meeting where a board motion was passed for UEP to work in collaboration with the Organic Trade Association (OTA) toward a national variance to allow molting. Lively discussion was also had about a Methionine rule that will be published in the Federal Register and confusion pertaining to the indoor natural light requirement.

Dr. Larry Sadler encouraged all members to reach out to their customers on the UEP Certified Cage-Free “Unscrambled Egg” promotion and provided a UEP Certified Cage-Free Systematic Guideline Update Plan set to renew every six years.

A motion was passed to develop a Pasture and Free-Range subcommittee, that would ultimately make a recommendation to the Producer Committee for Animal Welfare as to whether UEP Certified should develop a Free-Range and Pasture certification. In closing, the UEP Board motioned to continue USDA’s involvement with UEP Certified by requesting that they conduct assessments of the UEP Certified Guidelines and Procedures and conduct yearly on-farm assessments of approved auditing firms.

Chair Kim Rice moderated the Food Safety Committee Issues Briefing and Committee Meeting that started with an update on FDA activities and growth of small farms by Dr. Gerardo Ramirez. Deana Jones provided update on Salmonella Research Initiatives by USDA ARS and Jeff Hendricks provided an update on USDA AMS Sanitation Data from 2025. An overview of the producer training program was provided focusing on both small and large farms with AEB funding a large portion of the project.

Chair Dan Krouse led the Environment and Sustainability Issues Briefing and Committee Meeting. In addition to providing an update on the Ohio Lake Erie Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Litigation, Lauren Lurkins delivered an overview of UEP’s recent efforts to include overall TMDL Guidance, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Rules, Air Consent Agreement (ACA)/Air Emissions Estimation Methods (EEMs), Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rulemaking, and USDA-NRCS Conservation Practice Standards. Chair Krouse welcomed ideas for reforming both the Clean Water Act CAFO Rule and the USDA-NRCS Conservation Practice Standard Update and reminded members to heed a March 2nd Deadline for Applications to the EPA Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee.

In the Animal Health and Biosecurity Issues Briefing and Committee Meeting, Chair John Bedell led the discussion that began with radical changes in APHIS leadership. After Dr. Jeff Hill provided a presentation on whole house nitrogen gas emergency depopulation, Oscar Garrison cited the most recent HPAI numbers. Garrison outlined how 2025 was the worst year on record for egg farmers, with more than 15% of the U.S. egg layer flock lost in the calendar year. Dr. Kay Russo provided an overview of the HPAI situation in dairy and reported on the first positive dairy detection in the Netherlands.

Although the January meeting has concluded, the work continues. Please plan to reconvene May 4-6 for UEP’s Legislative Board Meeting at the Royal Sonesta in Washington, D.C.