Agriculture

The Manitoba Advantage in Egg Protein

The province has a thriving egg sector with a strong commitment to animal health and welfare, plus food safety across the value chain. Manitoba has access to quality feed grains, an economical and sustainable land base, and a good transportation network.

Picture of a variety of ways that eggs can be prepared, from poached to fried, scrambled and in an omelette.

Manitoba’s Egg Industry

The egg industry in Manitoba includes production and processing.

  • There are 170 registered egg layer farms and two hatcheries in Manitoba, producing around 71.6 million dozen eggs per year.
  • There were roughly 2.6 million egg-laying hens and 2.9 million egg-type pullets in Manitoba in 2021.
  • An egg layer farm in Manitoba typically houses 15,000 hens that lay about 380,000 dozen eggs per year.
  • Egg production in Manitoba generated $157 million in farm cash receipts in 2022, worth 20.04 per cent of total livestock farm cash receipts.
  • Manitoba has seen significant growth in egg production in recent years, with about 2.7 million laying hens and 6.6 million dozen eggs sold in 2021.
  • Manitoba produces 10 per cent of Canada’s eggs, with provincial layer allocations controlled through a national supply-managed marketing system.

Producer Companies

Industry Associations

Market and Consumer Trends

Annual Egg consumption is rising in Canada at 21.3 dozen eggs per person. Canada has seen an increase in egg consumption over the last decade. This is due to a shift in consumer attitudes towards eggs and protein-based diets and an increase in niche-market and convenience-egg products in the marketplace.

Research

The University of Manitoba conducts research that focuses on regulating and enhancing the nutritional quality of eggs. In partnership with Manitoba Egg Farmers, the university has added a new Egg Layer Research and Public Engagement Facility at the Glenlea Research Station. Equipped with the latest state-of-the-art equipment and smart Internet of Things cloud-based technologies designed to foster collaborations to advance Manitoba’s egg industry for the next 20 years, this is the most modern egg/layer research, education, and training facility in all of Canada and the only one purpose-designed to connect with the general public. Egg farmers in Manitoba support research related to poultry health and welfare, industry best practices, and food safety and sustainability through Manitoba Egg Farmers. Manitoba Egg Farmers is a part of Egg Farmers of Canada, one of the founding members of the Canadian Poultry Research Council.

The Food Development Centre conducts research into co-products of production to add value.

Contact

For more information about Manitoba’s egg sector or if you would like this information in an alternate format, email us at: agindustrydev@gov.mb.ca