Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman reported that “for the second time in seven years, USDA is looking to move D.C.-based employees at the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to Kansas City. USDA relocated hundreds of ERS and NIFA positions to Kansas City in 2019, but about 85% of impacted employees quit their jobs or retired, rather than relocate.”
“The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3403, which represents USDA researchers, expects to see similar results this year. An internal survey conducted by the union found that 76% of its members have indicated they are not planning to relocate,” Heckman reported. “AFGE Local 3403 said in a statement that these relocations, which are expected to go into effect by the end of the summer, will trigger a ‘brain drain’ within the department.”
“The union said diminished staffing at NIFA would lead to longer grant processing timelines and delays in funding for universities and research institutions. Fewer researchers at ERS, the union said, could increase the risk of research error that could impact economic planning,” Heckman reported. “‘ERS and NIFA are the intellectual and financial engines of American agriculture,’ AFGE Local 3403 said. ‘By forcing this move on an accelerated timeline, with no promise of financial help or job security, the USDA is effectively dismantling decades of institutional knowledge, jeopardizing the very data and funding that farmers, policymakers, and land-grant universities rely on.’”…