Most stakeholders, lawmakers don't support USDA restructuring plan

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Headquarters complex in 
Washington, D.C. (Adobe Stock photo)

After the Department of Agriculture announced in July plans to reorganize and relocate thousands of its Washington, D.C., workers, close its flagship D.C. research facility and create five regional hubs, employees, lawmakers and agriculture stakeholders voiced concern that the consolidations could "lead to a significant brain drain and disruptions to key farmer-support programs," reports Eric Katz of Government Executive. 

The restructuring plans currently include keeping 2,000 USDA employees in Washington, D.C, but the remaining 2,600 people would be offered positions in newly formed USDA hubs in Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The USDA requested public comments via email from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30, to which it "received nearly 47,000 responses, most of which were from form letters or part of an organized campaign," Katz writes. "Of the 14,000 remaining messages, 82% expressed a negative sentiment, according to USDA’s analysis of the responses. Just 5% expressed a positive tone."

"Among the most common concerns, USDA said, were for the impacts of reductions in personnel and resources," Katz explains. "'Stakeholders worry that cost-cutting measures will prioritize efficiency over service quality, undermining public trust,' the department said in its analysis."

Lawmakers and commentators criticized the USDA's lack of transparency about its plans."As the department looks to slash regional offices across the country, stakeholders raised concerns about the loss of 'local oversight and expertise,'" Katz reports. "Lawmakers...expressed concern over the potential loss of local input."

Employee unions "cited USDA’s relocation of two offices in 2019 to Kansas City, which resulted in the loss of more than half of their staff and significant drops in productivity," Katz adds. 

Despite the negative feedback, the Trump administration seems unwilling to change course. Katz adds, "Several employees told Government Executive the plan is proceeding full steam ahead."