A screenshot of the International Egg and Poultry Review. The weekly report provides an overview of international poultry and egg markets that are current or potential export destinations for U.S. producers.

U.S. broiler meat exports to Sub-Saharan Africa have increased 24 percent since 2010 and 460 percent since 2001.

The U.S. is the largest supplier of China’s turkey meat imports, totaling nearly 90 percent of all imports. Turkey meat imports to China in 2011 will increase 70 percent over 2010. Read more »

How worried should Charlie Brown be? Is there any truth to what some are calling the Great Pumpkin Shortage?

After Hurricane Irene pummeled and soaked the Northeast, the media began reporting that damage to the pumpkin crop portended a general shortage of pumpkins for the Halloween season and beyond. Heavy rains in the spring caused some farmers to plant later than usual, and some areas experienced hot, dry weather during the summer months, further fueling concerns about this year’s harvest. Read more »

A screenshot of the Cattle Dashboard. The livestock dashboards allow you to see weekly volume and price information presented in graphs and tables that can be customized for viewing and downloaded for use in reports and presentations.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is expanding upon its traditional Market News reports to create interactive dashboards.  The dashboards, first launched in the summer of 2010, provide quick, easy access to volume and price information for cattle, hogs, and sheep.   Read more »

A wide variety of eggplant sold at the North Carolina Farmers Market. The North Carolina State Farmers Market is one of the local markets covered by USDA Market News. Photo by Justin Henry.

The announcement this week that the number of farmers markets has grown by 17 percent nationwide comes as no surprise to the USDA’s Market News. As demand for local and regional foods has grown, USDA’s Market News has grown as well by providing coverage of farmers markets and auctions. Read more »

Producers of organically-grown poultry and eggs will now find it easier to access market information about their segment of the organic industry with the release of a new user-friendly Market News report launched this week by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).

The weekly report offers a summary of the production, wholesale, and retail featuring for certified organic poultry and eggs across the United States.

Specific production information includes head count and average weight of organic poultry slaughtered under federal inspection, estimated egg production, and organic shell egg inventory for the previous week. Wholesale data include sales of organic brown eggs and young chicken parts. Read more »

Since 1915, the Market Reporters of USDA have tracked and reported the markets for agricultural products on a daily basis, both domestically and internationally.  With hundreds of daily reports, Market News provides timely, reliable and unbiased information that helps facilitate the efficient marketing of agricultural commodities and helps to “level the playing field” by ensuring that all market participants have access to the same information at the same time.  The motto of Market News is: “Get it, Get it Right, Get it Out.”

USDA reports markets for fruits and vegetables, livestock and grain, poultry and egg products, dairy, and cotton and tobacco.  Reports cover sales at various levels in the marketplace, movement or shipments of product, and other key market factors such as demand and other impacts on the market at that moment in time.  Market reports issued by USDA are frequently relied upon for value determination in a wide range of applications.  These include price setting at the farm or nearby locations, dispute resolution, insurance settlements, loan appraisal, and as the basis in many contracts. Read more »