The director of agriculture or his successor at law shall investigate the marketing of farm products, including the cost of production and distribution thereof, furnish advice and assistance to producers, distributors and consumers and promote effectual and economical methods of marketing farm products. The director of agriculture may establish, administer and enforce the standards of grades, weights and measures established and/or recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture, except as otherwise provided by the laws of this state. The director may conduct shipping point and terminal market grading and inspection service alone or in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture and license inspectors, issue certificates on the products inspected, determine and collect and pay a reasonable service charge on the work done, and do each and every act necessary to render the grading and inspection service of greatest value to Missouri agriculture. The director of agriculture may publish bulletins containing information useful to the producer and consumer; may conduct exhibits and do everything necessary to provide ample material therefor; may conduct and/or cooperate in any kind of activity for fostering and promoting better handling, care, standardization and grading of farm products, and he may pay cash premiums from appropriations made in connection with agriculture exhibits, whenever in his judgment the same is desirable. The director shall foster, encourage, and assist in the organization and development of cooperative associations and movement to aid in solving problems of marketing farm products; may collect and disseminate by telegraph, mail or otherwise, timely information useful to producers, distributors and consumers concerning the weather, the supply, demand, prevailing prices, market conditions and commercial movements of farm products, including quantities in common and in cold storage and may cooperate in the distribution of farm labor insofar as found acceptable to the state and federal labor departments.