On April 20, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced new fee rates for shell egg grading and certification services, effective October 1 (Fiscal Year 2022). For shell egg grading and certification services, the scheduled rate will increase from $62 to $63 per hour, while the unscheduled rate will remain at $99 per hour. AMS also announced an increase in the fee rates for its audit-based verification services, from $115 to $150 an hour.

AMS is required to charge customers a user-fee rate that covers all expenses for providing voluntary grading, certification, and auditing services to the industry. Demand for AMS services continues to grow, despite the challenges over the past year. AMS abstained from making much-needed fee increases for FY2021, but business needs necessitate continuing with the incremental process begun in 2018 to raise fees to a level sufficient to sustain programs and staffing levels.  Click here for 2021/2022 Rates Charged for AMS Services in the Federal Register.