Six Democratic senators are seeking answers from the Agriculture Department after a major error in U.S. beef export sales data raised concerns about the reliability of federal agricultural statistics. Reuters reported the senators, led by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, asked USDA to explain how the mistake occurred and whether staffing reductions contributed. USDA previously reported beef export sales that appeared to surge nearly 500%, then revised the figure downward by about 90%. Reuters reported in July that incorrect sales to Italy and Chile were among the data problems. USDA described the incident as an isolated processing issue. Agricultural markets rely heavily on federal reports to assess supply, demand, exports and prices, meaning large errors can affect trading and producer decisions. The senators also requested information about USDA staffing changes and safeguards designed to prevent future mistakes. USDA has been reviewing its reporting procedures following recent questions about agricultural data accuracy and reliability.
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