Ag Department Announces Platform Launch To Deliver Market Information

The Department of Agriculture Wednesday announced the launch of a new electric data platform to deliver market price information to the commodities industry. The Market Analysis and Reporting Service, nicknamed MARS, is a web-based platform that USDA says provides detailed data sets "in a more customer-focused way" to support competitive markets for farmers and to help stabilize food prices. Through USDA Market News, the ‘boots on the ground' approach to gathering market data will collect and post the data to the new system. Greg Ibach, (eye-bah) undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, says the program “applies the best data management practices” to make data available “when and where farmers, packers and processors need it.” Starting Friday, Market News information for dairy products will be the first set of data and reports available through MARS followed by cotton and tobacco, scheduled for April 2018. Dates for livestock, poultry and grain and specialty crops will soon be announced on the new My Market News website. The portal can be found at mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov/.