USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has released a new publicly available web service for its Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) system. This web service offers easier access to all historical LMR data. The web service and its supporting data structure follow commonly accepted technical standards for the automated retrieval of historical data sets by end-users. Designed for more technical customer needs, it allows users to pull large amounts of customized data sets automatically or on-demand.


“The Livestock Mandatory Reporting program facilitates open, transparent price discovery and provides all market participants, both large and small, with comparable levels of market information for cattle, swine, sheep, beef and lamb meat,” said Craig Morris, Deputy Administrator of the AMS Livestock and Seed Program. “This new web service will provide our customers with additional resources to obtain large volumes of data.”


The LMR Web Service consists of a web interface and a Web Service User Guide. The link for the LMR Web Service and supporting documentation can be found in the “Tools” section of the Market News Livestock and Grain Portal home page.

In 2001, AMS implemented the Livestock Mandatory Reporting program as required by the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999. The purpose of the Act was to establish a program of information regarding the marketing of cattle, swine, lambs, and the products of such livestock that provides information that can be readily understood by producers; improves the price and supply reporting services of the Department of Agriculture; and encourages competition in the marketplace for livestock and livestock products.