MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture's statistical arm said it won't issue some agricultural reports this year because of automatic federal budget cuts, alarming some in the dairy industry who fear the information void could wreak havoc with milk prices.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service keeps tabs on a wide range of agricultural industries that generate billions of dollars for the U.S. economy. Its reports influence the price and supply of many products that end up on American dinner plates. Farmers use them to decide how much to produce, and food processors and traders look to them to determine when to buy and sell.
The agency posted a notice on its website Tuesday saying it would suspend multiple reports covering at least 10 agricultural products ranging from milk and chickpeas to cattle and catfish because of $85 billion in across-the-board federal spending cuts went into effect earlier this month. The notice offered almost no details about the rationale for the decision, saying only that it "was not made lightly, but it was nevertheless necessary, given the funding situation."
NASS spokeswoman Stephanie Chan had no immediate comment Wednesday.
Perhaps the highest profile reports on the chopping block are the agency's milk production estimates, which are used to set prices. The agency will issue its February estimate on Tuesday and then suspend its next six monthly reports, along with the annual milk production report that had been expected in April, according to the National Milk Producers Federation.