MARS

The days of waiting for market data is over... back in the day, you had to wait for the newspaper to provide weekly information, or radio reports like this to give you the most current prices and data.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Marketing Service announced the launch of a new electronic data platform to deliver market price information to the commodities industry.

The new web-based platform, Market Analysis and Reporting Services (MARS), uses state-of-the-art technology to present data in a more customer-focused way for producers to help stabilize food prices.

The USDA's Joe Gaynor describes how data for a new online platform for commodity prices is split into four categories.

"USDA Market News is the most relied upon source of unbiased agricultural market data. The USDA's on-site market reporters gather, analyze and publish unbiased data all day long to ensure fair food prices for consumers across the country and around the world. The MARS project applies the best data management practices to make that data available when and where farmers, packers and processors need it."

MARS improves the transparency, speed and accuracy of USDA Market News.