October 6

10/6 - The current U.S. government shutdown (that began on Oct 1) has resulted in the suspension or delay of many regular USDA pricing and survey reports. Market-sensitive reports and key statistical releases from agencies like the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Economic Research Service (ERS), and others are specifically affected, as non-essential staff are furloughed and data collection operations are paused. That said, the USDA managed to get most protein prices posted through Friday, Oct 3. But these may be the last numbers you see for a while – and Oct’s WASDE report has already been cancelled. USDA staff had previously been trimmed by 15% earlier this year. Roughly half of the remaining staff were furloughed last week. Please be aware that if you have contracts in place that are based on USDA data, you will need to make adjustments.