Specialty Crops Market News

It’s important to note that much of what the Specialty Crops Market News service provides is not available from any other source. Market News’ unique network of contacts and exceptional level of industry cooperation is nearly impossible to replicate. Additionally, the legal protection for Market News, specifically the nondisclosure of individual information, allows the service to operate with confidentiality and the trust of its sources.

So What’s New?
Currently in development is the new Marketing Analysis and Reporting Services (MARS) that will combine all Market News functions into a single, standardized, user-managed platform serving all commodities. Once MARS is operating at full capability, users will be able to access all Market News data from one coordinated website.

The MARS platform will allow direct submission of data from partners, such as the market information systems in other countries. In the future, this feature will expand the range of market information from around the world and make it easily available to Market News customers.

The data will be available in multiple digital formats for further analysis and comparison, with all the features of the current Market News Portal, plus additional functionality and flexibility to continue to best serve customers and grow with the ever-changing face of technology.

Organic Reporting
Specialty Crops Market News will receive additional funding from the most recent Farm Bill targeted specifically to extending our coverage of the organic sector, with a priority on commodities and market levels as identified by the Risk Management Agency and other USDA data user agencies. These agencies need additional market information to support their roles in providing critical services, such as crop insurance and disaster payments.

In response to these new demands, Market News will require additional staff and the expansion of coverage into new markets, origins, and commodities. It may also require meeting other stakeholders’ needs for this information.

Market News will seek to capture both market prices and volume shipped for the new commodities and districts covered, which will greatly increase the market transparency for the rapidly growing organic production and consumption of specialty crops, most notably fruits and vegetables.

Capturing the Agricultural Universe
As Specialty Crops Market News evolves, the critical task of tracking the supply and movement of products in the marketplace will remain its primary focus and mission to provide unbiased, timely, and reliable information. This is what we call capturing ‘the universe’ of supply for the U.S. fresh produce industry—because the most important tool in marketing is information.

If you need additional information on the movement or supply data available from the Specialty Crops Market News service, please contact Patty Willkie at Patty.willkie@ams.usda.gov or call 202 720-2175.

­Images: A_KUDR, TeddyandMia, Icon Craft Studio, Anton V. Tokarev & 3RUS/Shutterstock.com