2018 Rates Charged for AMS Services

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing the 2018 rates it will charge for voluntary grading, inspection, certification, auditing, and laboratory services for a variety of agricultural commodities including meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, eggs, dairy products, and cotton and tobacco. The 2018 regular, overtime, holiday, and laboratory services rates will be applied at the beginning of the crop year, fiscal year or as required by law depending on the commodity. Other starting dates are added to this notice based on cotton industry practices. This action establishes the rates for user-funded programs based on costs incurred by AMS. This year the majority of AMS user fee rates will remain unchanged, with the exception of increases for meat, poultry and egg grading and the hourly rate for AMS's Laboratory Approval Service.