A bean field outside of Eaton is seen on Aug. 12, 2019. (Preston Keres/USDA/Public domain)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan to relocate thousands of Washington, D.C., employees to five regional hubs including Fort Collins could be a boon for Colorado-based research while undercutting the department’s overall workforce, agricultural economists said.
The department wants to relocate up to 2,600 of its 4,600 D.C.-area employees to regional offices in Fort Collins; Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis; and Salt Lake City. The planned move would also phase out the USDA’s nine regional U.S. Forest Service offices primarily into a single location in Fort Collins…