New USDA Grading Dashboard Expands Access to Data
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a new Grading Dashboard, capturing current and historical quality grade and volume information for beef, lamb and veal shown in a visual format.
“Today’s release of this new dashboard offers farmers, ranchers and others in the supply chain the latest grading performance information in an easy to use format,” said Mae Wu, USDA Deputy Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs. “Up to 10 years of quality grades and volumes for beef, lamb and veal products can be viewed, analyzed and downloaded for free.”
The Dashboard includes data published through the weekly USDA National Steer & Heifer Estimated Grading Percent Report and expands the information to include veal and lamb grades and volumes. Benefits of the Dashboard include:
- Dynamic Visualizations: Filters can be manipulated to allow users to see information from different regions over different time frames.
- Easier Analysis: Users can easily compare and analyze up to 10 years of data and download the information into a spreadsheet for further analysis.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) applies quality grades to a variety of agricultural commodities for companies on a fee for service basis. Industry stakeholders use this information in a number of ways. Meat packers utilize grading data to compare the current percentages to the livestock they buy, while producers compare these data to how well their own livestock perform. Small and traditionally underserved producers will especially benefit from this tool. This segment of the industry often lacks access to expert support or the software required to analyze grading performance data which are often used when establishing contracts for livestock purchases. Industry analysts also watch these numbers closely as a critical measurement of high quality product in the pipeline.
This interactive tool provides another level of service to the beef, lamb and veal industries that rely on these data to make informed business, marketing and production decisions.
