A U.S. Department of Agriculture research branch uprooting from Washington, D.C. to Kansas City has resulted in nearly 80% of its staff quitting and several regular reports getting stalled. Washington, D.C.-based media website The Hill says the USDA’s Economic Research Service will delay or not release reports on things about oil production, agriculture commodities and food pricing. Other reports impacted include ones about the way food stamps affect rural economies, the drivers of the opioid crisis and health insurance coverage in farming households.
The article says the agency’s entire publishing team has up and left, creating a major roadblock to issue the reports.
Several government agencies, farm groups and economists use the reports.
The department’s relocation of two research sites, Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture, is expected to create about 700 jobs for the Kansas City area.
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