USDA Could Lose 15% of Workforce

What can farmland owners expect from the USDA if 15% of the federal agency’s workforce is gone? More than 15,000 USDA employees took the Trump administration’s offer to resign. Although, the first months of the administration’s workforce slashing priorities have been marred with confusion about which cuts could be permanent, which employee reductions are legally permitted by the courts, and which ones will end up being re-filled because they shouldn’t have been eligible for the voluntary buyouts. So, there remains uncertainty about how much of the agency’s staff will leave.

Some resignations were proactive. Employees had been warned that the agency could fire workers and force others to relocate out of the Washington, D.C. area to other places across the United States.

“USDA is pursuing an aggressive plan to optimize its workforce by eliminating positions that are no longer necessary, bringing its workforce back to the office, and relocating employees out of the National Capital region into our nation’s heartland to allow our rural communities to flourish,” Secretary Brooke Rollins said when she took over the agency. 

Some USDA workers who voluntarily quit could receive up to six months’ pay and benefits, according to various reports in recent weeks. 

Additional USDA Workers Could Leave

It is possible the USDA could lose more employees if others are allowed to take the resignation offer as the administration slashes the size of the federal workforce and looks to support future tax cuts. More than 250,000 employees could be ending employment with the federal workforce across the different agencies.

Among the USDA areas that could lose the most employees:

• Farm Production and Conservation

• Natural Resources and Environment/Forest Service

• Rural Development

• Research, Education, and Economics

• Food Safety Inspection Service

• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

RELATED: Country music superstar Willie Nelson, who has devoted decades of his life to helping farmers, released this message on behalf of young farmers. 

It is one thing if changes mean it takes longer for a USDA employee to provide information or process a farmer’s request. That could be frustrating and cause delays for farmers. But it would be an entirely different matter – a potentially serious matter -- if staff cuts result in delayed response to health-related issues like disease outbreaks, food contamination, or research.

Swine Web responded to the potential staff cuts:

“While the administration maintains that essential services will continue, the departure of thousands of experienced employees raises concerns about continuity, responsiveness, and long-term capacity. Pork producers and other stakeholders should closely monitor how these staffing shifts may affect regulatory oversight, biosecurity response, and technical assistance in the months ahead.”

Secretary Brooke Rollins testified before Congress Regarding USDA Staff Cuts

Secretary Rollins told members of Congress that the USDA – after working to remove thousands of workers – is now trying to hire for some of the positions that have since been vacated. On Tuesday, she told the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, "We are actively looking and recruiting to fill those positions that are integral to the efforts and the key frontlines."

The statement elicited confusion and sparked additional questions about why her agency would offer two rounds of voluntary resignation offers and then work to hire people after some of the positions became open.

Rollins acknowledged that there had been mistakes as it tried to remove thousands of workers.

"We are very intentionally approaching this. Have we done it perfectly? No. Any type of wholescale change and big effort to basically realign an entire government agency is difficult. We're working every day to solve for a lot of this, and I think we're making a lot of really good progress."

Rollins also told lawmakers that people who previously resigned could try to return. “If they want to come back, and if they were in a key position, then we would love to have that conversation."   

RELATED: Last October, Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner told the USDA that his state needed help to recover from Hurricane Milton.