The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking input from the public and industry stakeholders on how the U.S. beef grade standards could be updated to better serve the needs of beef producers, packers, wholesalers, volume food buyers, retailers, and consumers. AMS was asked by the American Wagyu Association to review the grade standards and explore potential revisions.
On July 8, 2026, AMS published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register seeking comments on the beef grade standards with a 60-day comment period that ends on September 8, 2026. AMS received an industry request to extend the comment period by an additional 90 days. AMS is honoring this request, so comments can now be submitted through December 7, 2026. The Beef Standards Notice Comment Extension is available here: Federal Register - United States Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef (Extension of Comment Period)
AMS develops and maintains official USDA beef grade standards for beef carcasses, which measure factors such as meat yield, fat covering, ribeye area, degrees of marbling and carcass defects such as dark cutting beef. The standards are applied to determine the quality of the product, and are not a reflection of wholesomeness, which is determined by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) prior to the grading process.
For more information, contact Chad Nelson at chad.nelson2@usda.gov or at 402-281-4704.
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