r/USDA

I heard from a colleague in ARS that the last organizational chart had the office of national programs as part of the operations, as well as the Area Offices. Both of them are NOT in the recently shared organizational chart; along with that is that the four major program areas led by the office of national programs from Beltsville in the George Washington Carver Center? Well those national program areas now go under the Area Office directors (now called Deputy Administrators) for broad areas that they have no expertise on. One example: Peoria and the AD and associate AD for that area are now the leaders of all the NRSAS efforts; see: https://www.ars.usda.gov/natural-resources-and-sustainable-agricultural-systems/ and these are now to be led by Rosalyn and Jay? SYs and RLs and NPLs who never were in leadership of or managed NRSAS teams?

Rosalyn and Jay are smart and competent, but they do NOT know the NRSAS portfolio. This will be at best a long drawn out learning exercise, but at worst, one more example of how ARS is failing

Trump’s ladies are all gone, inevitably next is AgSec. How soon do you think?

Still waiting for dates, details on severance and pretty much everything here. Many more facing the same circumstance despite being hired 100% remote.

Now that most USDA agencies are flush with cash after receiving flatline budgets with greatly reduced staffing after DRP 1 and 2, I'm not sure why agencies aren't offering another short window DRP until Sep 30 again. This would cost the government a lot less than full cost relocation that requires buying houses when they can't be sold, paying moving and house hunting costs, temporary housing, lots of admin leave hours, etc. It also places a smaller administrative burden on understaffed agencies than complicated relocation schemes with understaffed HR and financial mgt teams that will get smaller as a result of directed relocation (or another DRP).

Make me understand.

I guess it is just about maximizing pain for everyone involved, including those left after the dust settles.

Saw a job announcement today for FPAC at usajobs and the only locations were the hubs : Raleigh, Kansas City, and Fort Worth

basically, in a nutshell, they said there’s not a goddamn thing they can do to stop the reorg, but they’re gonna work on the process and some other crap….. I think anybody at the local level that’s telling people. This is gonna take one to two years of living in a bubble.

Worried about all the restructuring, departure of tenured staff, and potential cuts down the line. Have not been offered anything yet, but I really want good management for my next job.

Has anyone from FS, NASS, FNS, or any of the agencies gotten a letter specifically pointing to your position being moved to XX location yet?

Based on past moves, staff got broad announcements of a move in june and got actual, specific letters in early July to move by Sept 30. I'm guessing we're on the same timeline/slightly earlier so just wanted to know if folks have gotten anything.

so it seems recently there is such a push to get more TSPs (contractor) to plan practices for landowners which is basically what all of the field offices do now.

My concern is this some sort of silent firing to justify cutting more of our budget for salaries and allocating more to the TSPs? I may be paranoid but after all the nonsense of last year you just never know. I was caught up in the probationary mess.

I was told by a former employee who took the DRP that NRCS is going through a reorg and after this and the forced relocations are completed, they would be hiring more folks from outside the govt.

Any truth to any of this?

For reference: I took the DRP as well. But I would be interested in rejoining the agency somewhere down the road after the current administration is gone.

Are there going to be more PHSS or plant protection tech positions posted? Looking for GS4-5 ( entry level)

We were approved for forest fire risk mitigation work cost sharing by EQIP/NRCS. I am concerned about tax liability. We are not a business. We just moved onto our property 5/1/26 (we have owned the property since 2019 and I submitted the application in 2020). From what I have read, they typically fund about 75%-90% of the eventual cost...I pay up front and they reimburse what they said they'd pay on a per acre basis. I then cite the work as an expense and the EQIP $ as income, and I am safe from taxation since expenses>income.

BUT we are not a farming business, so I am worried that we are not able to file a schedule F. Plus through 2027 I still have income from my job. I'm confused about how this all works with the IRS. Right now our state plus fed tax rate is 50%...

What a disgrace. It’s hard to understand why Jody always seems to have a smirk on his face while NASS employees are being treated so poorly. His explanations simply do not add up, and it is becoming increasingly obvious that these decisions are being made based on favoritism and personal preference rather than positions or organizational needs as he states.
What is even more concerning is that none of the leadership appears to be moving out of the NCR. How is that possible if this process is truly being handled fairly and objectively?
The fact that NASS leadership could not even arrange adequate temporary space for 150 employees is beyond unacceptable. Failing to secure something basic for staff reflects a complete lack of planning, accountability, and respect for the people affected.

I don't recommend reading the whole thing thoroughly unless you are some kind of really deranged type of voyeur, but there are some interesting tidbits:

Vaden was in Indianapolis on May 14 and commented that they were still looking for office space. Also, he stated that they are still considering what parts of the USDA besides SNAP might move there.

He hints that the rest of the mission areas will be announced by the summer, but with two weeks left and all of that up in the air....

How long are we going to be exploited by this administration? Most of us have been working one or two grades higher than we should be for over a year with double or triple the workload and no pay increases. When does leadership get a backbone and stand up for employees and the mission? Can we file grievances for this bullshit? I’m about to put in my two weeks but I know it’s not worth it. How can we fight back against what they are doing? So many of our staff areas they can’t or won’t fill behind but are completely demolished due to the DRP.

Heard that an appointee for RD announced at a conference week that the reorg announcement would be out this month? Seems crazy to announce RD before some of the others that were targeted unless they are rolling out a bunch. May is half over!

Is it practical for them to implement such a large-scale relocation within such a short time frame? How will they secure enough funding for it? I still have doubts about it and am not sure how to plan my next steps. Only after I receive a firm relocation notice and confirmation of relocation financial assistance, such as reimbursement for house selling commission costs, would I consider spending time and money on home improvements before putting my house on the market, if I accept relocation offer, I am undecided so far. It is stressful to think about all of this.