On July 24, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The plan will relocate thousands of employees from Washington, D.C., restructure regional operations, and consolidate administrative services. To view the complete memorandum, click here. 

Reorganization Overview

• Regional hubs: USDA will establish five primary hubs in Raleigh, NC; Kansas City, MO; Indianapolis, IN; Fort Collins, CO; and Salt Lake City, UT. These locations were chosen based on existing concentrations of USDA staff and cost-of-living considerations. USDA noted in the memo that 90 percent of its workforce is already outside the Washington, D.C., area, and that additional relocations will put agency personnel closer to the communities they serve.
• Smaller D.C. footprint: The National Capital Region workforce will be reduced from about 4,600 to approximately 2,000 employees. Facilities such as the South Building in Washington, D.C., and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland, both with significant deferred maintenance, will be vacated and transferred back to the General Services Administration.
• Workforce changes: More than 15,000 employees have already left USDA through voluntary retirements and the Deferred Retirement Program. Future workforce reductions-in-force (RIFs) may occur based on mission reviews and budget resources. Positions tied to public safety and national security, including wildfire response, food safety inspections, and emergency coordination, will remain in place, though some of these employees may be relocated.
• Program realignments: Several mission areas will be restructured to align with the new hub model:
• The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will eliminate Area Offices, with remaining functions absorbed by the Office of National Programs.
• The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will consolidate its 12 regions into five, aligned with the new hubs, over multiple years.
• The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will reduce its seven regions to five, aligned with USDA hubs and Service Centers, within two years.
• The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will eliminate its nine Regional Offices within a year. Stand-alone Research Stations will be consolidated in Fort Collins, CO. The agency will retain a reduced state office in Juneau, AK; a service center in Athens, GA; and two research facilities—the Fire Sciences Lab and the Forest Products Lab.
• The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will realign its regional structure to match the hubs.
• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will keep its current centers, which are already located within hub cities.
• Administrative consolidation: USDA will centralize oversight of grants and financial assistance to improve consistency and efficiency. Civil rights, FOIA, legislative affairs, and communications will be managed by department-wide offices. Budget, finance, IT, human resources, and contracting functions will be consolidated under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, with dedicated support for wildland firefighting and commodity procurement. Tribal relations will be integrated within the Office of Tribal Relations. Student programs will transfer to ARS to reduce overlap.

Why This Matters for Economic Development Organizations

USDA administers programs that support infrastructure, business development, broadband expansion, agricultural competitiveness, natural resource management, and community facilities. These tools are often important to economic development strategies in both rural and urban areas.

Steps that Economic Development Organizations Can Take

• Monitor announcements from USDA and state USDA offices regarding staffing changes, office locations, and program delivery.
• Track any adjustments in application timelines, funding availability, or technical assistance processes.
• Stay in communication with USDA contacts to ensure continuity for projects underway or in development.

USDA has stated that core programs and services will continue during the transition. Importantly, USDA’s State Rural Development (RD) offices will remain in place. These offices are often the first point of contact for communities and organizations applying for USDA programs, and their ability to maintain adequate staffing will be critical to ensuring continued service delivery.

Economic development organizations are encouraged to maintain strong relationships with their state RD offices. When new State Directors are appointed, EDOs should reach out early to establish connections, share priorities, and build partnerships that can help advance local and regional development goals.