USDA Restores Dairy Reports Cut by Sequestration

Other agriculture industries don't get same treatment

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's statistical arm said it would restore some agricultural reports it had suspended because of automatic federal budget cuts after farmers and others in the dairy industry said the information was crucial to their business.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service keeps tabs on a wide range of agricultural industries that generate billions of dollars for the U.S. economy, and its reports influence the price and supply of many products that end up on dinner plates. Farmers use the reports to decide how much to produce, and food processors and traders look to them to determine when to buy and sell.

The agency said last month that it would suspend reports covering at least 10 agricultural products — ranging from chickpeas to cattle — because of $85 billion in across-the-board federal spending cuts going into effect. It now says it will provide milk production reports for the dairy industry, but other reports will not be restored.