Ag News
USDA announces wide-ranging reorganization
Posted on Jun 24, 2026 at 15:05 PM
In late April and mid-June, the USDA announced sweeping organizational changes to more than a dozen of its agencies. Here is a summary of announced changes. Visit the USDA Reorganization web page for more details.
Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services
On April 30, the USDA Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services mission area announced its intention to introduce the Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA). This shift will include a reorganization and relocation, all to move program leadership and staff from Washington, D.C. to hub and program compliance locations across the U.S.
Among the changes, Atlanta will be the location for one of four retail operations and compliance offices. The others will be located in Dallas, Los Angeles and New York.
The FNA administrator and some of the administration’s functions will continue to be based in Washington, D.C., to be responsive to Congress, interagency needs, regulatory work, and policy coordination.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be relocated to Indianapolis; the Child Nutrition Programs will be relocated to Dallas; the Supplemental Nutrition and Safety Programs will be relocated to Kansas City, MO; and research programs will be relocated to Raleigh. The fifth Hub in Denver will serve as the Emergency Management and Continuity of Operations location.
Research, Education and Economics
On April 23, the USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area announced reorganization and leadership restructuring.
REE agencies will relocate certain positions currently based in the national capital region to locations across the country. Employees with the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will be relocating some positions from the national capital region to offices in Kansas City. In addition, ERS and NIFA positions that were moved to Kansas City in 2019 and have since sprawled across the country will be relocated to Kansas City.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will be relocating some positions located in the NCR, as well as some positions outside the national capital region, to St. Louis or other NASS offices. NASS will also be maintaining a field presence to continue to collect information and provide statistical services.
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will begin decommissioning the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) and relocating research programs to facilities across the country.
Food Safety and Inspection Service
USDA will establish a new National Food Safety Center (NFSC) in Urbandale, Iowa, which will serve as the primary hub for FSIS administrative, technical and support operations. FSIS will also establish a science center in Athens, Georgia.
FSIS will repurpose existing USDA space in Iowa to establish the new headquarters, which will become the agency’s largest office in the United States with approximately 200 employees.
The NFSC in Iowa will serve as FSIS’ primary location for headquarters support functions, including resource management, training, food safety education, financial operations, information technology and administrative services.
The Athens science center, the USDA said, will build on the existing Eastern Field Services Laboratory and expand capabilities in microbiology, chemistry and epidemiology.
Under the reorganization, FSIS will relocate approximately two-thirds of its national capital region workforce to ‘mission-critical” locations, including the National Food Safety Center in Iowa and the Science Center in Georgia.
Approximately 200 positions will be relocated from Washington, D.C, while roughly 100 positions will remain to support congressional engagement, policy development and interagency coordination.
FSIS will also establish a presence in Fort Collins, Colorado, for staff supporting international activities.
The reorganization does not impact FSIS’ frontline inspection workforce, which represents 85 percent of employees and operates across more than 6,800 regulated establishments.
All food safety inspection activities and public health protections will continue without interruption, and the reorganization does not include any reduction in force. All FSIS employees will retain positions within the agency.
Foreign Agricultural Service
On June 17, the USDA, the announced a reorganization of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
FAS will establish an operational support hub in Kansas City, Missouri, and will begin a phased relocation of much of its Washington, D.C.-based workforce to this new duty station and to USDA’s George Washington Carver Center in Beltsville, Maryland. A a smaller contingent will remain in Washington, D.C.
Rural Development
On June 17, USDA Rural Development Mission Area announced its restructuring, which will include relocating select national capital region-based positions to St. Louis, Missouri, and Dallas-Fort Worth. These new locations will serve as operational hubs supporting loan and grant processing and program management.
Program delivery employees in state and regional offices will not be required to relocate. Field staff will continue to lead constituent engagement, stakeholder outreach, and marketing of RD programs.
Rural Development will consolidate loan origination, processing, and servicing functions under one centralized national framework. A key component of this modernization is a significant investment in Rural Development’s information technology infrastructure. USDA is launching the transformation of more than 130 loan and grant systems that support farmers, ranchers, and rural communities into one platform. This upgrade will enable customers to submit applications, track cases, access records, and resolve issues online 24/7 without staff intervention.
Agricultural Marketing Service, Animal and Plant Health Information Service
On June 17, the USDA’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) mission area announced strategic, targeted organizational changes within the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The MRP also announced that Kelly Moore, who has been Acting Administrator, has been appointed as the permanent Administrator for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
AMS administers programs that create and expand marketing opportunities for U.S. agricultural producers. The service will move commodity specific functions to the appropriate AMS commodity or service programs. For example, oversight of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act will shift to the Specialty Crops Program, and the Packers and Stockyards Division will move to the Livestock and Poultry Program.
AMS mission areas will continue uninterrupted, with no reduction in force. The agency will gradually reduce staffing in the national capital region, with most future hiring occurring in USDA hubs or field offices.
Meanhile, APHIS is implementing targeted changes to its Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program. All PPQ programs will continue without interruption and with no reduction in force nor movement of staff. No animal or plant health programs, including personnel, are affected by these additional announcements.
Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Risk Management Agency
USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area also issued a release on June 17 indicating that organizational changes to the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Risk Management Agency (RMA), and the FPAC Business Center (FBC) will be made but the release did not provide details. A USDA spokesperson said further information will be available on the USDA Reorganization page as details are announced.
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