02 NCAC 43B .0102          SOURCES OF INFORMATION

The Market News Section shall determine which sources of information it will seek and rely on to provide what the service determines to be adequate and factual information on the basis of prescribed reporting procedures. Toward this end, the following criteria will be used:

(1)           No sources of market information will be sought, recognized or used in the market reports from any person or firm that cannot report prices based on official grades for the commodities handled. (Existing sources not meeting this requirement will be dropped as soon as this is deemed advisable.)

(2)           No sources of market information will be sought, recognized or used in the market reports from any person or firm when justifiable reasons are known to question the accuracy of the information provided. (Should such reasons become known relative to existing sources of official market information, these sources will be excluded immediately.)

(3)           No sources of market information will be sought, used or recognized in the market reports that would be inconsistent with cooperative agreements existing between the North Carolina and United States Departments of Agriculture or that would prevent new agreements from being made between the two agencies.

(4)           Other factors that will be evaluated and considered in determining whether or not a sale will be reported are number of head being sold, location, and production in the region:

(a)           In general, a sale will not be covered that does not average 500 head of cattle or 500 head of hogs per sale; however, for coverage to be provided throughout the state, it may be necessary to cover some sales with less numbers.

(b)           For prices to be most meaningful for farmers, regional coverage is needed. As resources are available, coverage will be extended to all regions of the state with emphasis on number of animals in those areas. The distance between sales covered will generally be 60 miles for those sales being considered for future coverage; however, population of animals in a region could alter the distances between sales to be covered.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 106‑187; 106‑195;

Eff. August 1, 1982;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. September 23, 2017.