USDA Report Watcher: New WASDE & ERS Data File Alerts

Get every new or updated USDA data file the moment it is published: the WASDE report, ERS data products, NASS and AMS releases, and anything on a USDA page with download links. Each new XLSX, XLS or CSV is downloaded and read into JSON tables, so the numbers are ready for your model or spreadsheet without opening Excel.

Why this watcher

• Knows when a file is really out. USDA publishes report links before the release time, and until then a link like wasde1126.xls returns a "This file is not yet available" page instead of the file. Most scrapers save that page as if it were the report. This Actor marks it PENDING and reports it as NEW only once the real file is live.
• Catches silent updates. ERS replaces files in place and bumps a ?v= version; usda.gov changes the file's ETag and date. Both are reported as UPDATED.
• Data, not just links. Every sheet of a new spreadsheet is saved as JSON (up to 50,000 rows per file), and the original file is kept as an exact copy of what USDA published that day.
• Cheap to schedule. Unchanged files produce no row and no download: a quiet run only checks headers.

Statuses

Status	Meaning
NEW	A file that was not there before, or a PENDING file that is now released
UPDATED	Same file, new version, date or size
PENDING	The link is published but the file is not out yet
BASELINE	First run: the files already on the page are recorded, not downloaded

How to use it

1. Add the USDA pages to watch, one per line. Use the page that lists the download links, for example:
   • WASDE: https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/general-information/staff-offices/office-chief-economist/commodity-markets/wasde-report
   • ERS Wheat Data: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/wheat-data
   • WASDE archive on ESMIS: https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/3t945q76s
2. Run once to record the baseline.
3. Add a Schedule: hourly is plenty, or every 10 minutes around a known release time (WASDE is out at 12:00 ET on its release day). Connect an integration (email, Slack, webhook) to get the NEW rows sent to you.

Pages must be on usda.gov or one of its agencies' sites, or on usda.library.cornell.edu. Use Watchlist name to keep separate memories for separate sets of pages.

Output example

{
  "status": "NEW",
  "fileName": "wasde1026.xls",
  "fileType": "xls",
  "linkText": "Excel",
  "fileUrl": "https://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/wasde1026.xls",
  "pageTitle": "WASDE Report | USDA",
  "detectedAt": "2026-10-09T16:00:04+00:00",
  "firstSeenAt": "2026-10-06T14:20:11+00:00",
  "lastModified": "Fri, 09 Oct 2026 15:44:22 GMT",
  "sizeBytes": 354304,
  "storedFileUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/506087d3c1-wasde1026.xls",
  "tablesUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/506087d3c1-wasde1026.xls-tables.json",
  "sheetNames": ["WASDE Text", "Page 8", "Page 9", "Page 10"],
  "rowCounts": {"WASDE Text": 25, "Page 8": 55, "Page 9": 52, "Page 10": 62}
}

The tables JSON maps each sheet name to its rows: {"Page 9": [["Total Grains 4/", "2024/25", null, 2405.84, ...], ...]}.

Pricing

Pay per event:

Event	What triggers it
Run start	Each run, so a frequent schedule stays fair for both sides
New or updated file	Each NEW or UPDATED file delivered, with its download and tables

BASELINE and PENDING rows are free, and a run where nothing changed charges only the run start. The current rates are shown on this Actor's Store page.

• Free plan: up to 2 pages per run. A paid Apify plan watches every report you follow.

FAQ

Is this an official USDA product? No. It reads public USDA web pages and files.

Does it read PDFs? PDFs are detected, downloaded and saved; tables are read from XLSX, XLS and CSV.

What about a page that loads its links with JavaScript? The Actor reads the page as served. If a page lists no files, the run log says so; point it at the page with the download links.

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