In carrying out the provisions of this article the commissioner shall cooperate with the United States Department of Agriculture and its several bureaus and divisions and the departments of the several states. The commissioner shall investigate the methods employed by the United States Department of Agriculture for the promotion of economical and efficient marketing of agricultural products and he shall have authority to establish and publish weights, grades, standards, classifications, and rules and regulations for the production, handling, and distribution of agricultural products in this state, and he shall, so far as the same are applicable and practicable, utilize and apply the rules, regulations, classifications, standards and grades, and official methods of examinations and analysis of the United States Department of Agriculture and its several bureaus and divisions.