Opinion: Services for Kansas rural communities get chopped by D.C. 'wrecking crew'

An old barn stands on an abandoned homestead in
southwest Kansas. (Photo by Kevin Hardy, Stateline)

Rural communities often count on the Department of Agriculture for housing, food, economical and educational support. In rural Kansas, those foundational community pillars are being pulled apart, writes fifth-generation Kansan Christy Davis in her opinion for the Kansas Reflector.

"I worked for two and half years to rebuild what the first Trump administration tore down," Davis writes. "And now I have an unparalleled (and unenviable) perspective as I watch the second Trump administration, in just a few short weeks, dismantle the federal programs that feed, house and employ his rural constituents."

The historical and ongoing impact of USDA Rural Development programs in Kansas is "hard to overstate," Davis explains. "The programs make investments that the private sector can’t do alone. With grants, direct loans and loan guarantees, RD offers workable financing for roads, water systems, sustainable energy, broadband, telehealth, hospitals, clinics, housing and businesses in rural America."

"To ensure that farmers have equitable access to critical programs, USDA’s Farm Service Agency and National Resources Conservation Service have long had offices in nearly every Kansas county, staffed with hundreds of Kansans who can help farmers apply," Davis writes. "Trump’s policies are devastating to the 2% of rural Americans engaged in farming. But what about the other 98%? The system is failing the communities that have already suffered decades of disinvestment."

"I am proud of the progress we made for rural Kansas in my short tenure. But I’m confounded at how quickly and easily the 'wrecking crew' has reversed it," Davis writes. "I am a huge advocate for making it easier to remove and replace ineffective employees and retain the best. The new administration’s approach to civil service has had the opposite effect. . . .Those who accepted DOGE’s recent buyout offers were top performers and seasoned employees."