The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will close 259 offices and labs and cut some programmes to save US$150m per year.
As part of Monday’s (9 January) announcement by US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, operations in 46 states will be affected.
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“The USDA, like families and businesses across the country, cannot continue to operate like we did 50 years ago,” said Vilsack. “We must innovate, modernise, and be better stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars. We must build on the record accomplishments of farm communities in 2011 with a stronger, more effective USDA in 2012 and beyond.”
The closures follow a review of USDA operations as part of the Obama administration’s efforts to cut waste.
“In the past few decades, US agriculture has become the second most productive sector of the American economy, thanks to farmers adopting technology, reducing debt, and effectively managing risk,” Vilsack added. “These are lessons from which we can all learn.
The USDA was not available for comment about how many jobs will be lost as a result of the cuts.
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