That and production methods have been altered by California law limiting the size of cages and how birds are housed. The regs cost money and lowered production. It didn’t just affect CA anyone wanting to sell in CA had to fully comply as well.
—as an aside to the bird flu situation, too bad the producers didn’t just put a note on the egg carton saying “Not for sale in California”—
Driving through Arizona last fall, we saw a humongous chiggin operation just outside of Buckeye...hadn’t been there when we took that route 2 years before.