USDA releases reorganization plan

On Thursday, July 24, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, announced the reorganization plan for the USDA. The plan would transfer more than half of the 4,600-person Washington, DC–area staff to five locations around the country and close a number of key USDA offices in the capital region. The five newly identified USDA "hubs" are located in Salt Lake City, UT; Fort Collins, CO; Indianapolis, IN; Kansas City, MO; and Raleigh, NC. The plan also proposed to close most of USDA's Washington, DC–area buildings, including the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will align its regional structure with the five USDA hub locations. Additional reductions in force (RIF) plans were not announced at this time. A five-page memo outlines additional actions but does not provide specific details.

The reorganization came as a surprise to many members of Congress, who expressed concern over the lack of congressional input and questioned how the reorganization would increase efficiency or save money. During the first Trump administration, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Economic Research Service (ERS) were relocated to Kansas City, a move that resulted in the loss of more than half of the NIFA and ERS staff for several years. The Senate Agriculture Committee is holding an oversight hearing on the reorganization plan on July 29.