Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Friday announced a pilot program to allow more cattle producers and meat processors to access better markets through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) official beef quality grading and certification. The Remote Grading Pilot for Beef, developed by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), matches simple technology with robust data management and program oversight to allow a USDA grader to assess beef carcass characteristics and assign the official quality grade from a remote location, reducing costs and location as barriers to participation in voluntary grading services.