Research agencies remain understaffed, undertrusted

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) –  More than a year after two U.S. Department of Agriculture research agencies were moved from the nation’s capital to Kansas City, Missouri, they remain critically understaffed and some farmers are less confident in the work they produce.

The relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture in September 2019 led to a mass exodus of employees who couldn’t or didn’t want to move halfway across the country.

The agencies are producing research that is smaller in scope and less frequent, and some farmers say they now have to corroborate USDA research by comparing it to private market analysis.

A USDA spokesman says the agency is focused on rebuilding employee confidence and morale.