Agricultural Marketing Service: Difference between revisions

 

The '''Agricultural Marketing Service''' ('''AMS''') is an agency of the [[United States Department of Agriculture]]; it maintains programs in five commodity areas:<ref name=iopl>{{cite web

| access-date=2013-06-13}}</ref>  

 

These programs provide testing, standardization, grading and market news services for those commodities, and oversee marketing agreements and orders, administer research and promotion programs, and purchase commodities for federal food programs.  The AMS enforces certain federal laws such as the [[Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act]] and the [[Federal Seed Act]].<ref name="iopl" /> The AMS budget is $1.2 billion.<ref name="cato171012" /> It is headquartered in the Jamie L. Whitten Building in [[Washington, D.C.]]

Established in 1939 by [[United States Secretary of Agriculture|Agriculture Secretary]] Henry A. Wallace (later [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]) through the merging and consolidation of various [[United States Department of Agriculture]] (USDA) bureaus and programs, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) was tasked with facilitating fair and efficient marketing of American agricultural products, including food, fiber, and specialty crops both domestically and internationally.<ref name=Overview/><ref name=AllGov1>{{cite web |url=http://www.allgov.com/departments/department-of-agriculture/agricultural-marketing-service?agencyid=7161 |title=Agricultural Marketing Service |website=allgov.com |publisher=AllGov |access-date=July 30, 2021}}</ref>

Most functions of the new Service were later consolidated into the Agricultural Marketing Administration in 1942 before being shifted again several times in the 1940s and 1950s. The agency was once renamed back into the AMS from 1953 to 1965 before becoming the Consumer and Marketing Service. In April 1972, the current structure of the AMS was officially established under the Department of Agriculture. AMS also began enforcing parts of the 1990 [[Organic Foods Production Act of 1990|Organic Foods Production Act]].<ref name=AllGov1/> Over the decades, AMS grew to also support ranchers, importers, exporters, and other agriculture industry groups.<ref name=Overview/>

In 2017, Agriculture Secretary [[Sonny Perdue]] shifted several USDA offices, such as the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) and several program areas from the [[Farm Service Agency]] (FSA), into the Agricultural Marketing Service with the goal of better providing for farmers, ranchers, and producers while improving customer service and efficiency.<ref name=Overview/>

* Food Disclosure and Labeling Division (FDLD)

* Packers and Stockyards Division (PSD)

* Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act Division (PACA)

* Warehouse and Commodity Management Division (WCMD)<ref name="FairTrade" />

* [[National Organic Program]] (NOP)<ref name="FullOrg" />

* Cotton and Tobacco Program (C&T)<ref name="CotTob" />

* [[Food grading|Grading]] Division Standardization and Engineering Division

* [[Quality Assurance]] Division

* Market News Division

* Research and Promotion Division

* MRP Laboratory and Scientific [[IT]] Support Division

* Administrative Staff<ref name="CotTob">{{cite web |url=https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/cotton-tobacco |title=Cotton & Tobacco |website=ams.usda.gov |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |access-date=July 30, 2021}}</ref>

* Livestock and Poultry Program (L&P)<ref name="LivePoul">{{cite web |url=https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/livestock-poultry-program |title=Livestock and Poultry Program |website=ams.usda.gov |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |access-date=July 30, 2021}}</ref>

* Transportation and Marketing Program<ref name="TransMark">{{cite web |url=https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/transportation-marketing-program |title=Transportation & Marketing Program |website=ams.usda.gov |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |access-date=July 30, 2021}}</ref>

* Transportation Services Division

* Grants Division

* Marketing Services Division

* USDA Farmers Market<ref name="TransMark" />

* Science and Technology Program (S&T)<ref name="SciTech">{{cite web |url=https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/science-technology-program |title=Science & Technology Program |website=ams.usda.gov |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |access-date=July 30, 2021}}</ref>

* Laboratory Approval and Testing Division (LATD)

* [[Pesticide Data Program|Monitoring Programs Division (MPD)]]

* Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO)

* Seed Regulatory and Testing Division (SRTD)<ref name="SciTech" />

The AMS [[National Organic Program]] (NOP) develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labeling standards for organic agricultural products. The NOP also accredits the certifying agents (foreign and domestic) who inspect organic production and handling operations to certify that they meet USDA standards.

 

The AMS Science and Technology Program provides scientific support services to the agricultural community and AMS programs, including laboratory analyses, laboratory quality assurance, and coordination of scientific research conducted by other agencies for AMS. In addition, the program's Plant Variety Protection Office administers the [[Plant Variety Protection Act]], by issuing Certificates of Protection for new varieties of plants which are sexually reproduced (by seed) or tuber-propagated.  The program also conducts a program to collect and analyze data about pesticide residue levels in agricultural commodities. It also administers the Pesticide Recordkeeping program, which requires all certified private applicators of federally restricted-use pesticide to maintain records of all applications. The records will be put into a data base to help analyze agricultural pesticide use.<ref>

The AMS Transportation and Marketing Program supplies research and technical information regarding the nation's food transportation system to producers, producer groups, shippers, exporters, rural communities, carriers, government agencies and universities. The program also administers a program involving financial grants to States for marketing improvements. In addition, the division assists in the planning and design of marketing facilities, processes, and methods in cooperation with state and local governments, universities, farmer groups, and other segments of the U.S. food industry. This program is intended to enhance the overall effectiveness of the food marketing system, provide better quality products to the consumer at reasonable cost, improve market access for growers with farms of small to medium size, and promote regional economic development.<ref>