The Agriculture Department plans to relocate “much of” the Foreign Agricultural Service’s Washington D.C.-based workforce to Kansas City, Missouri, and Beltsville, Maryland, as part of its reorganization plan, the agency announced Wednesday.
According to a press release, the agency will send some Washington, D.C., employees to an “operational support hub” in Kansas City and others to the George Washington Carver Center in Beltsville. It will maintain some employees in D.C. who are in agency leadership or work on trade policy, market access negotiations, cooperator programs, and congressional and interagency engagement, the release said.
The release from USDA said the reorganization would not impact overseas staff or diplomatic posts, and would not include any reductions in force.
“Our promise to the American people requires us to make tough but necessary decisions – including ending wasteful spending on underused facilities and modernizing organizational structures that don’t fit today’s needs,” Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said in the release. “By acting now, we’re positioning the Foreign Agricultural Service – and the entire department – to continue serving the American people for generations to come.”
The release said relocations “will be phased in over time and in close consultation with affected staff, who will receive any available support throughout the transition.”
Separately, USDA announced a "modernization and restructuring effort" for the Rural Development mission area that will involve "relocating select [National Capital Region]-based positions to St. Louis, Missouri, and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas."
"These new locations will serve as operational hubs supporting loan and grant processing, program management, and maintain our mission of serving rural communities," a USDA release said.
"Program delivery employees in state and regional offices will not be required be required to relocate, as they already operate in the rural communities they serve," the press release said. "Field staff will continue to lead constituent engagement, stakeholder outreach, and marketing of RD programs."
In addition, USDA announced changes at the Agricultural Marketing Service, and said career Senior Executive Service member Kelly Moore, who has been acting administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, will become the permanent APHIS administrator.
"Simultaneously, APHIS is implementing targeted changes to its Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program to strengthen national plant health leadership and unify policy and operational functions, enabling faster, more consistent responses to plant health issues and emerging threats," a USDA release said. "All PPQ programs will continue without interruption and with no reduction in force nor movement of staff."
In addition, "To enhance efficiency and better align with USDA priorities, AMS will reduce siloing in its Fair Trade Practices Program by moving commodity-specific functions to the appropriate AMS commodity or service programs," a USDA press release said. "For example, oversight of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act will shift to the Specialty Crops Program, and the Packers and Stockyards Division will move to the Livestock and Poultry Program."
There will be no reductions in force as a result of the AMS and APHIS changes, USDA said.
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