Release No.: 148-13

Contact:

Sam Jones-Ellard (202) 660-2268

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2013 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has announced a new Market News report that covers grass fed beef.

“This monthly report will bring market clarity and exposure to assist the grass fed industry in marketing their products,” said AMS Administrator Anne Alonzo. “This report will fill a significant data gap for the industry and increase transparency in the marketplace for all participants.”

For almost a century, USDA Market News has provided farmers, ranchers and businesses with the market and pricing information. Over the years, our reports have evolved to better meet the changing demands and needs of stakeholders who rely on our data to remain competitive. Earlier this year, USDA was asked by the industry to develop a report for grass fed beef to assist them with attracting more producers and farmers to grass fed beef production.

In addition to market commentary, the new report includes three sections: prices paid for live cattle, wholesale beef prices, and direct-market beef prices. In the future, USDA will continue to expand the report as the number of market reporting participants grows by including trade volume data, and adding graphs and other visuals to the report.

The first monthly report will be issued on Monday, September 23, 2013. In order for the report to be a reflection of current industry conditions, we would encourage stakeholders involved in grass fed beef production to supply information by contacting the Market News office at (515) 284-4460.

For additional information, visit http://marketnews.usda.gov/portal/lg. To view the most current report, visit http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/nw_ls110.txt.