The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to close nearly 260 offices will not compromise the services the agency provides, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said this week.
Vilsack told members of the Farm Bureau during the closing session of their annual meeting Jan. 9, that the continuing federal budget deficit mandates that the agency streamline its operations.
The agency’s goal, to trim $150 million from its $145 billion annual budget, comes at a time when its workload is at record highs, and it has less money and fewer people to do the work, Vilsack said.
The cuts also come on the heels of some of the worst foodborne illness episodes in our nation’s history, including the largest meat recall and one of the deadliest foodborne illness outbreaks on record, the Jensen Farms cantaloupe Listeria outbreak.
The cost cutting plan calls for the closure of labs and facilities in 46 states, and seven foreign offices including five district offices of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), 11 domestic offices of animal and plant health inspection services, five foreign offices of animal and plant inspection services and 24 soil survey offices.
Vilsack said these cuts will not affect the agency’s commitment to keeping the nation’s food supply safe and there will be no reduction in the number of inspectors.
