Taking into account the cumulative egg production for a hen, during which week (approximately) will the break-even point occur?

Exhibit 1. Arkansas Egg Company Cost and Production Information Arkansas Egg aimed to collect 26.6 dozen eggs from each hen over its productive laying cycle of 55 weeks. If that happened, based on the contract price, then AEC recovered the costs of bringing the bird to its productive cycle (about 40 cents/ dozen) as well as fixed overhead (about 16 cents/ dozen). The approximate contribution margin during this time was 7%. After the breakeven point, the only costs incurred were the variable production costs. Information on hen life cycle Approximate life of hen 78 weeks Pre-productive period of hen life cycle First 23 weeks of life Productive period or laying cycle Last 55 weeks of life Average age of laying hens at Summers' barns 43 weeks Average age of laying hens at Thomas' barns 48 weeks Minimum production target (PT) over which to allocate costs 26.6 dozen Approximate costs based on 26.6 dozen production target Total pre-production cost through week 23 $0.40 per dozen or $10.64 per bird Fixed overhead cost (facilities, debt service, depopulation, etc.) $0.16 per dozen or $4.26 per bird Variable production costs (feed, transportation, labor, etc.) $1.14 per dozen or $30.32 per bird Total cost for producing organic cage-free eggs $1.70 per dozen or $45.22 per bird Expected profit at 26.6 dozen (7%) $0.12 per dozen or $3.17 per bird Note: Arkansas Egg Company, as a family business with less than $25 million in revenue, used cash basis accounting for book and tax purposes. For purposes of this case, assume that revenue was produced after eggs are laid. Fixed and variable production costs were incurred evenly across the hen production cycle.Exhibit 2. Trends in the Conventional Egg Market 2016 2015 2014 Sep Jun Mar Dec Sep Jun Mar Dec Sep Farm Price White Egg (doz.) $ 0.40 $ 0.32 $ 0.67 $ 1.06 $ 1.70 $ 1.72 $ 1.24 $ 1.47 $ 0.85 Retail Price White Egg (doz.)' $ 1.55 $ 1.49 $ 2.08 $ 2.75 $ 2.97 $ 2.57 $ 2.13 $ 2.21 $ 1.97 Table Egg Laying Hens (millions)2 307.6 301.0 302.4 286.6 275.6 269.9 304.1 307.8 302.1 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Table Egg Production (billions)2 22.4 21.6 21.1 20.2 19.5 20.3 21.5 22.2 21.6 Table Egg Demand (billions) 3 20.2 21.4 21.4 20.8 19.7 20.0 20.9 21.9 21.4 Per Capita Demand (dozen eggs)3 69 66 66 64 61 62 65 68 67 1 Source: Ibarburu, M., 2016 "U.S. egg cost of production and prices," Egg Industry Center. 2 Source: USDA Economic Research Service. Livestock & Meat Domestic Data. Chickens and Eggs. Latest report available at: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1028 3 Source: USDA Economic Research Service. World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report. Latest report available at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/livestock-meat-domestic-data/ Note: The USDA Cage-Free Shell Egg Report described that September prices to the first receiver (farm price) of organic cage-free eggs varied between $1.35 and $2.40. These were most likely contracted prices. Latest report available at https:/ /www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/pymcagefree.pdf