Items Tagged with 'Forest Service'

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says announcements are coming soon related to fertilizer costs, specialty crops and the USDA's plan to restructure the Forest Service.

Congressional ag leaders are back in Washington and focused on getting about $15 billion in farm aid out the door, as well as assisting states that are reeling from fires and other natural disasters across the country. Lawmakers also are weighing in on President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to overhaul the 101-year-old U.S. Forest Service.

The U.S. Forest Service has finalized a long-contested land exchange with Resolution Copper, clearing a major hurdle for development of one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits.

More than 15,000 Agriculture Department employees have accepted deferred resignation offers from the Trump Administration. Most are from outside of the Washington D.C. region and waited until the program's second round to accept, according to data obtained by Agri-Pulse. 

President Donald Trump has sent a $9.4 billion package of proposed spending rescissions to Capitol Hill, and the targets include some foreign food assistance initiatives.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday the department will unveil its reorganization plan next week and it won’t be as “drastic” as many have feared. Speaking to members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, Rollins confirmed that about 15,000 USDA employees had taken buyouts. 

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.

The Trump administration’s plan for reorganizing and downsizing USDA should be out by the middle of May, and it will likely call for consolidating some programs with other agencies, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.