In April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced reorganization plans involving the decommissioning of some facilities, the opening of new facilities, and the relocation of hundreds of Washington D.C.-based positions in various departments to locations across the U.S.

A letter signed by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota)—Ranking Member on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry—and 24 other Senators, has called into question USDA’s plans for its Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area specifically.

USDA’s REE includes the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Economic Research Service (ERS), and the National Agricultural Statistics Office (NASS). Under the REE reorganization plan:

• ERS and NIFA will relocate certain Washington D.C.-based positions to their offices in Kansas City, Missouri and return positions that have “sprawled across the country” to Kansas City
• ARS will begin decommissioning the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville, Maryland and relocate research programs to facilities across the country
• NASS will relocate positions based in Washington, D.C. and other locations across the U.S. to its office in St. Louis, Missouri or other offices; NASS will maintain a field presence to continue to collect information and provide statistical services.

In their letter, the Senators highlighted that the previous relocations of ERA in 2018 and NIFA in 2019 resulted in the loss of more than half of staffers. REE agencies were again impacted by dramatic staff losses due to the Trump Administration’s reductions in force (RIFs) in 2025, including a loss of over 30 percent of staff within the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

“The REE reorganization and restructuring announced this April proposes to relocate REE mission area staff to over 27 different locations within months, but specific details of the relocations remain unclear,” the letter states. “This could result in decreased agency capacity, further deteriorating the Department’s ability to conduct research, administer funding, and produce timely and reliable data products.”

The Senators requested that USDA provide a detailed description of actions it has taken to minimize disruptions to farmers, ranchers, and researchers and adhere to reorganization best practices. They also requested that USDA detail its engagement with REE mission area staff.