Government shutdown triggers information blackoutGovernment shutdown triggers information blackout

After the U.S. government furloughed nonessential employees and shut down many services Oct. 1, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Economic Research Service and the Agricultural Marketing Service divisions of the Agriculture Department stopped reporting data. Users attempting to access data on the USDA websites were met with the announcement, “Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available.” Beef, pork, poultry, dairy, grain and energy data are unavailable. The October World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, or WASDE, report was canceled. For all practical purposes, the food industry entered a virtual commodity information blackout, and any contracts tied to USDA markets became subjec...