USDA has overhauled its market news service reports, eliminating the cut flower price reports while improving the produce price reports.
On the plus side, the new portal allows users to choose how to view the reports—by crops, by terminal market or shipping point, for specific dates etc. For example, you can quickly look up wholesale lettuce prices in San Francisco. You may even find some entries for organic lettuce prices, though these are few and far between. Go to http://marketnews.usda.gov/
On the minus side, USDA stopped reporting cut flower prices on Feb. 2. For many years, wholesale flower prices were reported twice a week from six cities. Now there are no current wholesale flower prices at all—though you can access the last price reported on Feb. 2. There is one ornamental report remaining: the price at point of entry in Miami for imports. These are limited in varieties, and prices are not good indicators of what florists are paying. To view the report, start at www.ams.usda.gov/marketnews.htm. Click on Fruits and Vegetables, then Individual Text Reports. Scroll down to Ornamental Crops Market Reports and click on Shipping Point Cut Flower Price Reports. Select Miami.
If you would like to let USDA know your opinion of the new or eliminated reports, email Fruit and Vegetable market news branch chief Terry Long at terry.long@usda.gov.