Items Tagged with 'Agricultural Research Service'

The Agriculture Department is pressing ahead with its plan to reorganize agencies and relocate employees despite concerns about the loss of experienced personnel in a department that has already lost more than 15% of its workforce and questions about how well the restructured department will work.

A report sent to President Trump officially substantiates whistleblower claims of workplace safety concerns at an ag research facility that led USDA to invest $50 million in renovation and improvement efforts.

Robin Giles ranches cattle, sheep and goats down in the Texas Hill Country on land that’s been in his family for over 130 years. Though he hasn’t seen a case of New World screwworm since 1972, memories of the flesh-eating parasite have stuck with him.

More than 15,000 of approximately 100,000 employees at USDA are preparing to leave the agency after accepting buyout offers that will allow them to keep being paid through the end of September, according to numbers shared with Agri-Pulse by a Capitol Hill source.

Thousands of USDA employees are planning to leave the agency through a deferred resignation program that could challenge the department’s ability to fulfill critical functions such as food import and export inspections. According to one report, 16,000 USDA employees have opted for buyouts over two rounds. 

Land-grant universities are sounding the alarm about potential damage to agricultural research as USDA goes through a rapid transformation that's likely to include deep funding and staff cuts.

CDFA by the numbers * From CARB to lobbyist * Tariff deadline day * Ag chairs to meet on farm bill

USDA is in the process of hiring back scientists in the Agricultural Research Service who were summarily fired from their positions because they had not completed their probationary periods, according to union representatives.

USDA has updated its guidance on validating animal-raising and environment-related claims on meat and poultry labeling in response to criticism that companies were making claims without backing them up.