(NAFB.com) – A USDA report says May egg output dropped year over year, as did the number of total egg layers in the U.S. Production fell to 8.59 billion eggs last month, down six percent year over year. About 7.3 billion were table eggs, and 1.29 billion were hatching eggs. Of the hatching eggs, 1.18 billion were broiler-type. USDA also said the number of egg layers in the U.S. on June 1 totaled 350 million, a six percent drop from the same date last year. Approximately 285 million layers produced table or market eggs, 60.3 million laid broiler-type hatching eggs, and 4.13 million produced egg-type hatching eggs. The rate of production averaged 79 eggs per 100 layers, a slight decrease from June 2024. Hatchings in May included 60.9 million egg-type chicks, an eight percent increase from the same month last year. Eggs in incubators jumped 11 percent to 59.6 million.