According to newly released Office of Inspector General Report, USDA lost more than 18% of its staff between January and June.
On Jan. 11, the department had 110,384 employees. Between Jan. 12 and June 14, a total of 20,306 employees left USDA.
Of that total, 15,114 accepted the department’s deferred resignation program. Under terms of the federal DRP, employees agreed to resign early this year. In return, they continued to receive pay and benefits, in most cases, through Sept. 30.
Left unsaid, according to multiple former employees, was an implicit threat to those who did not accept the DRP. The Trump administration — through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative — made clear it intended to significantly reduce head counts. Those who lost their jobs due to staff reductions would not be getting extended severance packages.
Despite this, administration officials insist those who left via DRP did so completely on their own initiative. According to USDA, the agency under Trump has been transparent about plans to “optimize and reduce” its workforce.
“As part of this reorientation, the deferred retirement program, a completely voluntary tool, was used to empower employees to decide what is best for them,” a spokesperson said.
That spokesperson also emphasized that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins issued an April 22 memorandum exempting 52 national security and public safety positions from the broader federal hiring freeze.
Which agencies most impacted?
For departments under USDA, the U.S. Forest Service lost 5,860 workers, the most people to leave a single department. They accounted for 16% of its entire workforce. Other agencies that incurred significant staff reductions include:
- Rural Development at 36%
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture at 35%
- Office of Civil Rights at 35%
- National Agricultural Statistics Service at 34%
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at 25%
- Farm Service Agency at 24%
- Agricultural Research Service at 23%
- National Resources Conservation Service at 22%
- Risk Management Agency at 17%
According to Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., she first requested this report in March. In a statement released Monday afternoon, she said she found it “particularly shocking” that agencies responsible for assisting farmers and small towns have lost a third of their employees.
“Losing nearly 20% of all USDA staff weakens the department’s ability to respond to challenges facing our farmers, leaves our food supply chains more vulnerable to threats like New World screwworm and avian flu, and undermines efforts to drive the rural economy forward,” Klobuchar said.