More than agriculture at USDA, but not in its name
It took little more than a shake of the head and a few reproachful words for House Agriculture chairman Kika de la Garza to sink a Clinton-era proposal to change the USDA's name to the Department of Food and Agriculture. "It would better reflect what USDA actually does and where the dollars are spent," said Dan Glickman, the agriculture secretary who brought the idea to Capitol Hill as part of a reorganization of the department and its myriad duties.
Perdue chooses new homes for two USDA research agencies
Ten months after he announced the initiative, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will meet with USDA employees privately Thursday and then announce to the public the new homes for two research agencies now sited in Washington.
House panel to vote on blocking relocation of two USDA agencies
If a House Appropriations subcommittee has its way, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue would be barred from moving two USDA research agencies out of Washington.
Relocation at hand, USDA research agency staff votes to unionize
Employees of the Economic Research Service voted in a landslide to unionize on Thursday in balloting that was an unofficial referendum on Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s plan to move the agency out of Washington in the coming months. A vote on unionization is set for June at the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, also slated for relocation.
Perdue could pick new home for ERS and NIFA in May
The USDA is working briskly to move two scientific agencies out of Washington, an aide to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told lawmakers on Wednesday, despite skepticism on Capitol Hill about whether the relocations are justified. “We anticipate we will have a site recommendation to the secretary in early May,” she said.
USDA tells ERS and NIFA staff who stays and who moves
As part of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s plan to move two research agencies out of the Washington area, officials have given “stay/go” information to employees, said a USDA spokesperson on Tuesday. Three-fourths of Economic Research Service workers will be asked to relocate, said one …
In two ways, lawmakers say ‘no’ to relocation of USDA research agencies
Congress is about to send USDA funding for the rest of the fiscal year to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. It will also send him an unambiguous, although nonbinding, message: Don’t move the Economic Research Service or the National Institute of Food and Agriculture out of Washington.
As House Agriculture chairman, Peterson plans extensive oversight hearings
Incoming Agriculture Committee chair Collin Peterson spelled out an ambitious plan for hearings on topics from the farm economy and the trade war to rural broadband and a review of Sonny Perdue’s decision to move two USDA agencies out of Washington.
Farm bill 2018: Late, yes, but not as late as some
The 2018 farm bill, which President Trump could sign into law as early as next week, is more than two months overdue, largely because of a fight over SNAP work requirements that led Rep. Collin Peterson to say, “I don’t know if we’re ever going to get another one done.” The past decade has provided ample reason for doubt.
Inspector general to review USDA relocation of two agencies
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue aims to announce the new homes for two USDA research agencies in early 2019, potentially relocating them as far away as California to save money and make it easier to recruit workers. The inspector general, however, will review whether Perdue can act on his own, announced two lawmakers.
NFU opposes USDA plan to relocate research agencies
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue may jeopardize the objectivity of two USDA agencies by taking control of the Economic Research Service and moving it and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) out of Washington, said the National Farmers Union on Tuesday. The second-largest U.S. farm group announced its opposition to the reorganization in a letter to Perdue, saying the USDA has failed to justify the reorganization announced a month ago.
Analyst: USDA overstated employee turnover to justify agency relocation
When Sonny Perdue announced he would move the Economic Research Service out of Washington, he said it would make it easier to recruit and retain qualified staff. But after a review of USDA data, a professional statistics group says the problem of staff turnover doesn't exist.
Show us the proof, Democrats ask Perdue
Four Democratic representatives, all members of the House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, have called on Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to justify his plan to move two USDA agencies out of Washington.
Stakeholders weigh in on Perdue’s relocation plan
Last week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced plans to move two key USDA agencies out of the Washington area. This week, the debate over the proposal, both pro and con, kicked off.
Perdue takes control of USDA’s economics agency
The Economic Research Service, the USDA’s self-described “honest broker of economic information,” is being placed under the control of the agency’s top political appointee, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. The move, announced on Thursday, would make the ERS part of the office of Perdue’s chief economist.
USDA wins food safety, loses SNAP in Trump reorganization
On Thursday, budget director Mick Mulvaney unveiled the federal reorganization plan that President Trump set in motion in his second month in office. Under the proposal, SNAP and WIC would be moved from the USDA to a new agency, the Department of Health and Public Welfare.
Perdue names new head of Foreign Agricultural Service
On Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue appointed Ken Isley to be administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, which promotes U.S. farm exports, monitors food and agricultural issues worldwide, and has a role in U.S. food aid.
USDA unveils website to handle crop supports, land stewardship
During a trip to Michigan, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue introduced a website that will eventually allow producers to file crop support and land stewardship forms digitally instead of having to bring paper copies to their local USDA office.