USDA Reorganizes, Relocates Staff from Washington to Regional Hubs

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has announced a major reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture aimed at reducing its Washington, D.C., workforce and relocating many employees to five regional hubs in Raleigh, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Fort Collins, and Salt Lake City. This initiative responds to budget constraints, high costs of living in the National Capital Region, and aims to align the USDA’s workforce size with available financial resources and agricultural priorities while maintaining all critical departmental functions. The department currently has about 4,600 employees in the D.C. area but expects no more than 2,000 to remain, vacating several underutilized buildings with costly deferred maintenance. The reorganization is part of a broader effort to improve service delivery to American farmers, ranchers, and foresters and involves workforce reductions largely through voluntary retirement programs. The Senate Agriculture Committee has expressed concerns about the lack of consultation before the announcement and will hold a hearing with USDA’s Deputy Secretary to review the plan’s implications. Despite the shakeup, USDA leadership assures stakeholders that essential services, including food safety and wildfire response, will continue uninterrupted throughout this multi-month transition.