As consumers, we have a great confidence that we’re getting what we pay for at the pump and in the checkout lane at the grocery store.
Retailers also rely on equal competition in the marketplace, holding the belief that consumers are getting the same amount of a good at their store as they are at a shop right down the street. Not more, not less.
The Weights and Measures Bureau with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is on the front line of consumer protection, ensuring the accuracy of small devices, like gas pumps, counter scales and grain moisture meters. They also inspect large devices, such as truck scales, bulk, loading rack and LP gas meters.
There are more than 52,000 licensed commercial weighing and measuring devices in Iowa, with ten inspectors throughout the state testing for precision annually. This includes 34,323 gas pump meters; 1,196 grain moisture meters; 5,237 truck, hopper, livestock, platform and railroad scales; and 10,864 counter and small scales.
The inspectors also conduct random inspections of package for net contents, price verification (scanner check) and motor fuel analysis.
The Weights and Measures Bureau is responsible for maintaining equity in the marketplace and ensuring the accuracy of the devices used in commerce.
March 1-7 marks National Weights and Measures week, which commemorates the first weights and measures law in the United States that was signed by John Quincy Adams on March 2, 1799.
The affect of small inaccuracies in transactions can be very profound. Because of this law Iowa, along with other states, have been able to improve the accuracy of measurements, enhance consumer protection, promote fair competition, and facilitate economic growth and trade.
If every gas pump in the country was off by just over a tablespoon per 5 gallons, it may not be noticeable in the individual transaction, but cumulatively the error would total about $125 million annually. If every pound of meat were incorrectly weighed by .01 lb, it would amount to 500 million pounds annually.
In a time when we are looking for quality and value in all we purchase, the impact of an accurate marketplace can be significant to each of us. Weight and measures ensures we get what we pay for.
Bill Northey is serving his first term as Secretary of Agriculture. Northey is a fourth-generation corn and soybean farmer from Spirit Lake, Iowa. His priorities as Secretary of Agriculture are expanding opportunities in renewable
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