(Disposition of an agricultural crop might include such uses as food, animal feed, industry, seed, and export, as well as changes in stocks.)
Because of year-to-year fluctuations in production, much marketing and disposition of some commodities may reflect production that occurred during a previous calendar year.
For this reason, analysis is often facilitated if the marketing year for a crop commences at about the time of harvest.
Especially in the case of certain perishable fresh fruits and vegetables, the marketing year may be less than a full year in length, because economic activity of interest for reporting and analysis may be concluded within just a few months.
[2] For several other commodities, notably some perishable fruits and vegetables and some tobacco categories, the marketing year for the US and (or) for various US states is less than a 12-month period.