EGG-NEWS has consistently criticized the relocation of the USDA Economic Research Service from Washington, DC. to Kansas City.  As of the end of 2020, the ERS had 135 positions in Kansas City and 74 remaining in DC. together with 38 additional employees on delayed relocation.  This total is 83 positions short of the 330 full time employees authorized by Congress.  After the announcement that the ERS would be transferred, there were numerous resignations as senior members of the Agency obtained alternative positions in academia, industry associations, universities, and think tanks in the DC area where they had spent their careers.

The disingenuous justifications including contact with farmers and expense advanced by Dr. Sonny Perdue for the move from Washington, DC. to Kansas City have been widely refuted.

It will be the responsibility of the incoming Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsak, who ran the department for eight years under the Obama Administration, to resolve the issue and restore morale to the ERS. It would be beneficial to rehire experienced statisticians and scientists who either took premature retirement or found alternative positions when leaving the USDA. Transition to the status quo might be eased by allowing ERS personnel to work from home until the location of the ERS is resolved.

 Concurrent with the relocation of the ERS, the Trump Administration relocated sister agency, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture that also encountered disruption, resignations, and retirements to the detriment of its function.