Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins testified before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee this week and defended downsizing the USDA and potential cuts to international food programs. Reuters says the secretary added that the Agriculture Department doesn’t plan to close any of its 4,500 Farm Service Agency offices that serve America’s farmers.
“It is not in our plans to close any FSA offices,” she said. “USDA is working to develop online technical assistance that may mean less reliance on in-person services in the future.” The president’s budget would cut $358 million from the FSA and suggested that some of its locations are underutilized, resulting in waste. Rollins also said her agency is recruiting to rehire staff to critical roles that were vacated, including for the FSA county offices, wildland firefighters in the U.S. Forest Service, and staff at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which handles animal disease outbreaks like bird flu.
