Will USDA’s research arm be moving back to D.C. under Biden?
President-elect Joe Biden has a lot on his plate, after the Trump administration has decimated and relocated USDA’s research agencies. These agencies study threads to the food system like climate change, making their research vital to Biden’s agenda. But recreating the department could take years, Politico reports. After relocating the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) from Washington D.C. to Kansas City in 2019, many employees quit, leaving positions understaffed and delaying critical research. However, moving hundreds of employees back to D.C. can’t be the only solution. Many of the vacant positions will need to be filled in order to continue critical research about conservation, nutrition, and the farm economy.
