An ERS updata (USDA expects ‘significant delays’ in economic research reports):
Mass attrition at the Economic Research Service as a result of USDA’s decision to move the agency out of Washington will lead to “significant delays” in vital research reports, according to an internal document provided to POLITICO.
The memo, which was drafted by department management for planning purposes, outlines how widely the agency’s work will be paralyzed as a result of the relocation.
USDA identified 38 specific reports that may be delayed because staff members have departed. They include research on topics such as consolidation in the dairy industry, food security among veterans, and international agricultural market access. Some reports will be delayed and perhaps even discontinued, such as price spreads, which calculates what percentage of food dollars goes to farmers. ...
Separately, the union for the agency’s employees estimates that only 19 out of 280 employees chose to move, representing just 7 percent of total staff. USDA has set a deadline of Sept. 30 for the relocation. Current employees have until Sept. 30 to change their status and those "numbers are changing daily," the spokesperson said. ...
Since the move was announced in August of last year, 88 employees left the agency and 50 staffers chose to retire, according to the union.
Forty-four employees were granted special accommodations allowing them to temporarily keep working in Washington, such as via telework or an extension to their report date in the new office space. A reported 79 employees will stay in D.C. that make up the operations deemed "core" by USDA.
The union’s survey doesn't account for new hires that have reported for work at the new location. An Agriculture Department spokesperson said that 10 new employees at ERS and three at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which sends grant money to agricultural research institutions, have started work in the Kansas City area. Four new ERS staffers and one NIFA employee will begin next week.
The USDA is actively recruiting for more than 100 positions at both agencies, the spokesperson added.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has defended the move as a means to cut costs, improve recruitment and retention of staff, and bring USDA closer to farming communities. USDA has said that locating ERS and NIFA in the Kansas City region would save about $20 million per year over 15 years.
But several employees and former officials have suggested that USDA ordered the relocation to stifle research that contradicts the Trump administration's agenda.
Whatever the purpose of the move, can we agree that it is stifling research and will do so for a very long time? Here is the frequency distribution, as promised:
| Outcome | Number | Percentage |
| Move to KC | 19 | 6.8 |
| Quit the ERS | 88 | 31.4 |
| Retire from ERS | 50 | 17.9 |
| Work for ERS in DC | 79 | 28.2 |
| Temporarily work for ERS in DC | 44 | 15.7 |
| Total | 280 |
