The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a significant change in its organizational structure, shifting focus and staffing from Washington D.C. to regional agricultural hubs across the country, including Salt Lake City, Utah.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) responded to the announcement with support for the move. “The people making decisions about how our forests are managed and our food is grown shouldn’t be distant bureaucrats,” said Senator Mike Lee. “I congratulate the Department of Agriculture for decentralizing from Washington and relocating staff to Salt Lake City and other regional hubs. Not only is this a big win for Utah’s farmers and ranchers, but also for our land managers as the department moves closer to the people who live, work, and rely upon these lands. I will continue to fight for the Utahns who raise livestock, grow the best food on Earth, and sustain our National Forests.”
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins outlined the rationale behind this decision. “American agriculture feeds, clothes, and fuels this nation and the world, and it is long past time the Department better serve the great and patriotic farmers, ranchers, and producers we are mandated to support. President Trump was elected to make real change in Washington, and we are doing just that by moving our key services outside the beltway and into great American cities across the country,” said Secretary Rollins. “We will do so through a transparent and common-sense process that preserves USDA’s critical health and public safety services the American public relies on. We will do right by the great American people who we serve and with respect to the thousands of hardworking USDA employees who so nobly serve their country.”
The reorganization plan consists of four main objectives: aligning workforce size with financial resources and priorities; bringing USDA operations closer to customers; reducing management layers; and consolidating redundant functions.
As part of this effort, USDA plans a phased relocation of much of its agency headquarters staff out of Washington D.C.’s National Capital Region (NCR), which currently employs around 4,600 people. The NCR has one of highest living costs among federal regions—a factor considered when selecting new hub locations such as Raleigh (NC), Kansas City (MO), Indianapolis (IN), Fort Collins (CO), and Salt Lake City (UT). After implementation, no more than 2,000 employees are expected to remain in NCR.
In addition to relocating personnel, USDA intends to vacate several underutilized buildings in Washington D.C., including facilities facing substantial deferred maintenance costs like $1.3 billion at South Building alone.
Salt Lake City’s selection as a hub reflects both existing concentrations of USDA employees in those areas as well as lower cost-of-living rates compared with Washington D.C., where federal salary locality rates reach nearly 34%.
Further details about these changes can be found in the full reorganization memo from Secretary Rollins.
