United States Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has announced a “complete reorganization” of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that will include closing Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC).
Citing goals of efficiency and more affordable cost of living, Rollins said USDA will be “moving our key services outside Washington, D.C.” and relocating “much of the Washington, D.C., area workforce” to five hub locations. There will also be reductions and consolidations.
D.C. area offices slated to close are: BARC, the George Washington Carver Center in Beltsville, Braddock Place in Alexandria, and the South Building in D.C.
Area offices that USDA plans to retain include the Whitten and Yates Buildings.
The hubs USDA will be moving their workforce and services to are: Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah.
The News Review will be reporting further on this development in our next issue. If you are a USDA employee, we want to hear from you. Email editor@greenbeltnewsreview.com
