USDA weighs five field office closures

By Dean Shipley

USDA.gov

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering consolidating some Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices as a way to meet the “evolving needs of a 21st century agricultural economy.” In a release following a recent announcement by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak of a USDA “Blueprint for Stronger Service,” the plan is to help farmers and ranchers to drive America’s economy by streamlining operations and cutting costs.

To do that it has been proposed that five FSA offices be closed. One of the five is in Clark County. That office, if closed, would be consolidated into the Madison County office, located at the county engineer’s building on U.S. Route 42.

But don’t look for it to occur anytime soon. The USDA will have to begin a process, which could take up to 120 days. Christina Reed, spokeswoman for the Columbus office of the FSA of the USDA, said the next step will be to hold a public meeting within the next 30 days. At that meeting comments from the public would be heard. Those and other public comments would then be transcribed and sent to the office of the Secretary of Agriculture for review at the national level.

Then it could be as many as 90 days before that office renders a decision.

Reed said if the office is closed, the potential savings would come through not having to pay rent and utility expense for the office. The employees, which in the case of the Clark County office is two, would be moved to Madison County. Reed said a dollar amount on the rent and utility savings was not immediately available. But the overall goal for savings set by the USDA is $150 million a year. The savings would come from closing 260 offices nationwide.

Ohio FSA will release more information about each public meeting as soon as the locations and day/times are established.

The Blueprint for Stronger Service is based on a Department-wide review of operations conducted as part of the Administration’s Campaign to Cut Waste, launched by President Obama and Vice President Biden to make government work better and more efficiently for the American people. The agency took a hard look at all USDA operations, from headquarters to field offices. The end result is a plan that will create optimal use of USDA’s employees, better results for USDA customers, and greater efficiencies for American taxpayers.

The other four offices released by Steven Maurer, OFSA executive director, are as follows:

• Carroll County will be consolidated with the Tuscarawas County FSA office and located in New Philadelphia.

• Meigs County will be consolidated with the Gallia/Lawrence County FSA office and located in Gallipolis,.

• Montgomery County will be consolidated with the Preble County FSA office and located in Eaton.

• Perry County will be consolidated with the Fairfield County FSA office and located in Lancaster.

FSA will hold a public meeting in each affected county within the next 30 days.

For more information about the Blueprint for Stronger Service, visit www.usda.gov/strongerservice.