News Release

March 3, 2011

Contact:
Mary Geiger
Communications Director
Kansas Department of Agriculture
(785) 296-2653 phone
Mary.Geiger@kda.ks.gov

NCWM Announces Weights and Measures Week: March 1-7, 2011

TOPEKA - Anytime you buy food at the grocery store or fill your car with gas you are dealing with products that have been looked at by weights and measures. For regulatory officials who are responsible for oversight of software driven electronics that measure our fuel and weigh our food, education is always a top priority. In recognition of their dedication and importance to our society, the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) celebrates Weights and Measures Week, Weights and Measures: Educating Today for Tomorrow, March 1-7, 2011.

"This date is significant. It marks the signing of the first weights and measures law by John Adams on March 2, 1799," said KDA Weights and Measures Director Tim Tyson. "During the 106 year history of the NCWM, we have seen advancements from mechanical devices to highly sophisticated software-based weighing and measuring instruments.”

Weights and Measures week is also an opportunity to educate consumers, businesses and lawmakers about the quiet but systematic effort of the state and local weights and measures officials who have instilled so much trust in our marketplace. Americans seldom question the quantity statement on a package, the scale at a check stand, or the gallons they put into their cars and even fewer would know who is responsible for instilling that confidence.

“This year, NCWM is focused on education,” Tyson said. This includes both educating the public about the role of weights and measures in our society and celebrating the education and advancement that has taken place within the industry. Weights and measures inspectors are rising to the challenge of new technologies in the marketplace. 

While weights and measures today involves more computer technology than weighing products by hand, officials continue to protect consumers and our economy which depends on uniform and accurate standards of mass, volume and length.
 
Tyson serves as the Chairman of the National Conference on Weights and Measures a professional nonprofit association of state and local weights and measures officials, federal agencies, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. NCWM has developed national weights and measures standards since 1905. The organization brings the right interests together to keep pace with innovative advancements in the marketplace.

###