CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The number of eggs and the farms producing them in West Virginia are expected to increase due to a national salmonella scare, a state agricultural official said.

Both consumers and stores might turn to locally produced eggs after two Iowa farms recalled more than a half-billion eggs being linked to as many as 1,300 cases of salmonella poisoning, Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglass said.

West Virginia has 200 licensed egg producers who can't keep up with the demand since the scare began.

"There are people who are looking for a way to augment their income, so we'll probably see an increase in egg production,'' Douglass said.

At Charleston's Capitol Market, the Purple Onion store has doubled the amount of eggs it normally sells during a typical week, owner Allan Hathaway said.

Hathaway says numerous callers have asked if his eggs were on the recall list. His eggs are brought in from an Amish farm in Ohio.

Rick Rees, who owns Sandy Creek Farms in Jackson County, said he's been selling out of his weekly supply of 30 dozen eggs faster. Those eggs come from a farm near Parkersburg.

"I told the farmers I would take everything they have,'' Rees said.

Rees said many customers are no longer comfortable buying products from large companies supplying vendors across the nation.

"I've started noticing this trend over the past year,'' he said.