The Trump administration’s freeze on federal hiring is worsening the effects of short-staffing in the Agriculture Department’s local offices that serve communities, a major farm group warned lawmakers Wednesday.
County-based field offices are farmers’ main connection to the USDA, and the strain on personnel was evident before the new administration arrived, National Farmers Union President Rob Larew told the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
“It’s already happening right now,” Larew said at the hearing on the state of the farm economy. “Right now that’s being exacerbated.”
County-based offices are the public’s first point of contact with the 100,000-employee USDA, helping farmers and others with conservation, disaster assistance and other programs on a daily basis.
