TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) Legal action is being taken against the Arizona Department of Agriculture for making it illegal to sell eggs from chickens kept in cages.

Egg producers in Arizona now have to provide a much larger area for hens to produce them. This rule, implemented at the beginning of the year, has increased their costs.

Now, the local restaurant owner of Union, Grant Krueger, is taking the Agriculture Department to court. He says, "We've seen egg prices triple and quadruple based on this ruling."

Krueger added that the increased cost of producing eggs is hurting his restaurant. "We buy over 100,000 eggs a year; this could easily cost $50,000 to $100,000 a year," according to Krueger.

Earlier this year, the state looked at studies estimating the average cost of changes to cage-free production to be around two cents an egg, or 23 cents per dozen.