Kansas City should be the new home of two agencies that USDA plans to move out of Washington, say three Missouri lawmakers, joining the expected bidding war for the 620 high-paying jobs that constitute the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. While the boost to a local economy is alluring, some researchers wonder if the relocation is part of a plan to slash the size and funding of the research agencies.
“We are right in the center of agriculture country and we are within 300 miles of six land-grant universities, which produce the students that can fill these jobs,” Rep. Vicky Hartzler told public broadcaster KCUR. Hartzler and Reps. Sam Graves and Emanuel Cleaver sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue last week to promote Kansas City to house ERS and NIFA. The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, due to open in 2022 in nearby Manhattan, Kansas, is an added reason to choose Kansas City, they said. The USDA already has large presence in the region.
The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in North Dakota, Rep. Kevin Cramer, has proposed Fargo, North Dakota., for the new location of the agencies.
“But some researchers and former USDA officials say the change seems designed to slash scientific funding,” reports the Washington Post, pointing to the administration proposals last spring to cut ERS funding in half. “The plan may also weaken ERS research, in particular, critics say, by making it more difficult for agency economists to consult with other federal research offices, lawmakers and federal policy groups.” A former president of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association said many economists and scientists were likely to resign rather than move hundreds of miles to a new agency location.
The USDA has a Sept. 14 deadline for submission of proposals for a new location for one or both agencies.