General Market Manual
General Market Manual

Author: United States Department of Agriculture

Publisher:

Published: 2017-09-19

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781387240821

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This is a general instructional guide for receiving market inspectors. For specific instructions on the certification of fresh products, please refer to the specific commodity inspection standards, inspection instructions, and visual aids located on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) website for Fruit, Vegetable, Nut, and Specialty Crop Grade Standards and Other Resources. If you need help on a topic not covered by these instructions, please contact your immediate supervisor or Inspection Operations staff in Washington, DC. The AMS Specialty Crops Inspection (SCI) Division developed these instructions to help officially licensed personnel inspect agricultural commodities. These instructions do not establish any substantial rule not legally authorized by the official grade standards. These instructions replace General Market Inspection Instructions dated April 1988 and include, but not limited to, all previous correspondence, memos, inspection instructions, or procedures.

Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook
Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook

Author: Kenneth Mathews

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2015-10-27

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13: 9781518771439

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As the last quarter of 2015 begins, production data show that total red meat and poultry production, aggregated over the first three quarters of 2015, increased by less than 1 percent over the same period of 2014. In the first three quarters of 2015, beef production is about 3 percent below production in the same period last year. Cattle prices so far in 2015 have averaged almost 3 percent above prices in the same period of 2014. Production effects of disease outbreaks link the pork and poultry sectors, but in divergent directions: the pork sector continues to recover from the effects of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PEDv) outbreaks last year, with total production in the first three quarters of 2015 almost 8 percent ahead of the same period in 2014. The poultry sector is recovering from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), the effects of which has fallen so far on the turkey sector (2 percent lower production) and the egg sector (5 percent lower production). Turkey prices have averaged almost 6 percent above the same period last year; average egg prices are almost 36 percent above the same period of 2014. Broiler production is up in 2015 by 4 percent.

Running a Food Hub: Volume Two, a Business Operations Guide
Running a Food Hub: Volume Two, a Business Operations Guide

Author: James Matson

Publisher: Government Printing Office

Published: 2015-09-17

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 9780160929847

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This report is part of a multi-volume technical report series entitled, Running a Food Hub, with this guide serving as a companion piece to other United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports by providing in-depth guidance on starting and running a food hub enterprise. In order to compile the most current information on best management and operations practices, the authors used published information on food hubs, surveyed numerous operating food hubs, and pulled from their existing experience and knowledge of working directly with food hubs across the country as an agricultural business consulting firm. The report’s main focus is on the operational issues faced by food hubs, including choosing an organizational structure, choosing a location, deciding on infrastructure and equipment, logistics and transportation, human resources, and risks. As such, the guide explores the different decision points associated with the organizational steps for starting and implementing a food hub. For some sections, sidebars provide “decision points,” which food hub managers will need to address to make key operational decisions. This illustrated guide may assist the operational staff at small businesses or third-party organizations that may provide aggregation, marketing, and distribution services from local and regional producers to assist with wholesale, retail, and institution demand at government institutions, colleges/universities, restaurants, grocery store chains, etc. Undergraduate students pursuing coursework for a bachelor of science degree in food science, or agricultural economics may be interested in this guide. Additionally, this reference work will be helpful to small businesses within the food trade discipline.