Ag Committee questions USDA on staffing & program implementation

by | Sep 23, 2019 | 5 Ag Stories, News

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey went before the House Ag Committee last week. There has been some concern raised about how USDA is handling the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill and disaster assistance programs. The committee delved into staffing issues, and whether they were causing the slowdown.

House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN 7th) talked about the question of understaffing at Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. He stated that he felt like the FSA agency personnel were having to do more work with fewer staff members.

Chairman Peterson was trying to find out if there had been administrative requests for more staffing at USDA, but Undersecretary Northey wouldn?t volunteer any information along those lines.

The concerns of how USDA was handling their affairs wasn?t just from one side of the aisle. Representative Austin Scott (R-GA 8th) said he was concerned over how USDA was delivering disaster aid. He called into question the estimates of the agency?s economists. He noted that it took three Universities to finally convince USDA its estimates were off by $2 Billion dollars.

The concern over understaffing at USDA is not new. As necessity has caused the need for more programs and uses of existing programs, such as disaster relief and Market Facilitation, the need for a properly staffed FSA office is growing. Farmers will be depending more on these offices in the years to come.