Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, shown here on Capitol Hill in April 2019, announced in June 2019 that most staff from two USDA research agencies were being relocated to the Kansas City region. The American Federation of Government Employees said of the move, “Evidence suggests that the relocation of these agencies is an attempt to hollow out and dismantle USDA science that helps farmers and protects our food supply.” Photo: J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, shown here on Capitol Hill in April 2019, announced in June 2019 that most staff from two USDA research agencies were being relocated to the Kansas City region. The American Federation of Government Employees said of the move, “Evidence suggests that the relocation of these agencies is an attempt to hollow out and dismantle USDA science that helps farmers and protects our food supply.” Photo: J. Scott Applewhite / AP

By Merrit Kennedy
17 July 2019

(NPR) – Two vital research agencies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are hemorrhaging staff as less than two-thirds of the researchers asked to relocate from Washington to the Kansas City area have agreed to do so.

When U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the planned new location of the research agencies last month, he said it “will be placing important USDA resources closer to many stakeholders” and “increasing the probability of attracting highly-qualified staff with training and interests in agriculture.”

But groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists call it a “blatant attack on science” that will “especially hurt farmers, ranchers and eaters at a particularly vulnerable time.”

The American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing the USDA’s Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, said the relocation “has resulted in catastrophic attrition at USDA’s top research agencies.”

“Evidence suggests that the relocation of these agencies is an attempt to hollow out and dismantle USDA science that helps farmers and protects our food supply,” the union added. […]

It’s not yet clear whether the research agencies will be located in Kansas or Missouri, according to The Kansas City Star. […]

An ex-employee of ERS recently told Morris that “efforts by the secretary … have just destroyed morale.” He said the way the agency is run has become increasingly partisan, and he resigned after the surprise announcement about relocations.

“I think it’s had its intended effect. People have left, morale is low. The agency will take a long time to recover from the damage that’s been inflicted,” the former employee told Morris.

Some of ERS’ recent studies, as Morris noted, may be politically uncomfortable for the Trump administration:

“ERS studies, for instance, concluded that the 2017 tax cuts championed by the administration would most benefit the richest farmers, and that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which Trump wants to cut, is good for the economy.” [more]

Scientists Desert USDA As Agency Relocates To Kansas City Area