Consumers may be grumbling over the recent hikes in egg prices but the rise in demand is “egg-cellent” news for the economy in Iowa — the nation’s number-one egg producing and egg-processing state. Holly Sorge, spokeswoman for the Iowa Egg Council, says egg prices have soared in the past few weeks. Last year’s national average was a dollar-three per dozen, while Iowa averaged around 80-cents a dozen. Now, Iowa’s seeing prices around a dollar-40 a dozen, while cities elsewhere in the U.S. are seeing two-dollars a dozen. Sorge says there are several factors coming into play that are forcing prices up. She points to a number of things pushing up demand, including: holiday baking, new medical findings that indicate the benefits of eating eggs pushing up consumption, and the increase in people who are on high-protein diets. Sorge says two eggs equal one serving of meat, averaging between 17 and 24 cents a serving, which she says is still a very inexpensive main course. She says the current price hike is a nice change-up for Iowans who are involved in the egg industry.Sorge says Iowa has about 70 egg producers who have a combined 40-million laying hens, which are laying ten-billion eggs a year.