U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins has announced a major reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), aiming to realign its operations with its founding mission of supporting American farmers, ranchers, and foresters. The changes are intended to address longstanding inefficiencies, reduce costs, and improve service delivery to USDA's agricultural stakeholders.
Over the past four years, USDA's workforce increased by 8%, and salaries rose by 14.5%, despite the lack of a sustainable funding model and no significant improvement in core service delivery. According to the USDA, this growth led to inefficiencies, including underutilized office space and high deferred maintenance costs within the National Capital Region (NCR). President Trump has directed agencies to closely examine federal spending, and the USDA's internal review reportedly identified a bloated and costly structure.
© USDA
The Department emphasized that essential functions, such as fire response and food safety, will not be interrupted. Earlier this year, Secretary Rollins issued a memorandum exempting 52 critical position classifications from the federal hiring freeze, covering roles vital to national security, food inspection, and forest protection. These positions will continue to be staffed, although relocations may occur.
Secretary Rollins stated that the reorganization seeks to serve agricultural producers more directly by decentralizing USDA operations. "We are moving key services outside the beltway and into great American cities across the country," she said, adding that the process will be conducted transparently and with respect for USDA employees.
The reorganization is based on four core objectives: aligning workforce size with available funding and priorities, bringing USDA closer to its stakeholders, reducing bureaucratic layers, and consolidating redundant support functions.
As part of this restructuring, USDA plans to relocate much of its NCR staff to five regional hub cities—Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah. These locations were selected based on existing USDA employee concentrations and cost-of-living considerations. Currently, USDA employs about 4,600 individuals in the NCR, but expects to reduce that number to fewer than 2,000 post-reorganization.
The Department will vacate several underutilized and high-maintenance buildings, including the South Building, Braddock Place, and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The South Building alone has $1.3 billion in deferred maintenance and an occupancy well below capacity. To manage workforce costs, USDA is also continuing voluntary separation initiatives. So far, 15,364 employees have opted for the Deferred Retirement Program (DRP), a voluntary resignation tool. This reorganization marks the first phase of a multi-month process. USDA leadership will begin notifying offices about relocation plans in the coming weeks.
For more information:
USDA
Tel: +1 (202) 720-2791
Email: [email protected]
www.usda.gov
