USDA to Announce Next Phase of Agency Reorganization This Week, Agriculture Secretary Says

Source: US News & World Report/Reuters

April 22, 2026, at 4:50 p.m.


WASHINGTON, April ⁠22 (Reuters) - ⁠U.S. Agriculture Secretary ⁠Brooke Rollins said on Wednesday the ​next phase of the Department of Agriculture's ‌reorganization will be announced ‌by the end of this week ⁠and ⁠will involve the relocation of researchers.

The agency has ​said it will move most of its Washington-area staff - about 2,600 people - to five regional ​hubs in an effort to bring the ⁠workforce closer ⁠to farmers. Most ⁠USDA ​employees already live outside Washington.

The next reorganization phase ​will include ⁠moving researchers closer to land-grant institutions and was being finalized on Wednesday, Rollins told the agriculture subcommittee of the Senate ⁠Appropriations Committee.

More than 15,000 USDA employees took financial incentives ⁠to leave the agency last year as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to reorganize and shrink the federal government.

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