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The U.S. Department of Agriculture saw some of the largest workforce reductions of any federal department as the Trump administration set out to downsize the government over the past year.
More than 24,000 people left the USDA since President Donald Trump took office last January, according to U.S. Office of Personnel Management data.
The department saw a nearly 27% reduction in its workforce from September 2024 to December 2025, according to data that's presented by fiscal year.
The lost staffing means farmers are waiting longer for help applying for financial assistance or special project funds, said Nick Levendofsky, executive director of the Kansas Farmers Union.
"If you don't have the folks that are there to do the work that's needed to be done – whether that's paperwork or following up with farmers on a project that they are wanting to do – then where do those farmers go for those services?" Levendofsky said.
Nationwide – and across the Great Plains and Midwest – the Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Agricultural Research Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service lost the most employees since September 2024, according to the federal data.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service, which collects and publishes data on livestock and crop production, lost 37% of its staff – the largest percentage of any agency.
And the Food and Nutrition Service – which operates food benefits including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Women, Infants and Children's program – saw a 31% reduction from about 1,750 employees to 1,200.
Across the board, all USDA agencies saw between an 11% and 37% staff reduction.
More than 20,000 employees left the USDA between Jan. 12, 2025 and June 14, 2025, according to a recent USDA report. Almost three-quarters of those employees took a Deferred Resignation Program agreement, allowing them to voluntarily resign and take paid leave for several months.
The resignation agreements were introduced under the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, initiative, which sought to decrease the size of the federal workforce and find cost savings. Most employees that accepted an agreement did so between February and April 2025.
State by state
Staffing cuts hit some states more than others. Maryland lost the highest percentage of USDA staff since September 2024, while South Carolina lost the least.
In the central U.S., Kansas lost 32% of its USDA staff. That's more than 500 positions, and the largest percentage in the region.
Levendofsky with the Kansas Farmers Union said farmers had been struggling with an understaffed USDA since the Obama administration. The Biden administration hired new staff members, but many of those newer positions were removed through DOGE initiatives.
"We're behind where we even were before all of these challenges," he said. "It's like a two steps forward, three steps back problem."
The USDA Farm Service Agency provides financial assistance to farmers. Their staff helps farmers sign up for federal programs, disaster relief, crop insurance or low-interest loans.
In just over a year, Kansas lost about a quarter of its FSA staff, according to the federal data. Levendofsky said the loss of the agency's staff leaves struggling farmers waiting for assistance.
"If a county's already dealing with fewer staff than they had to begin with, or if there's a challenge there somewhere that they can't overcome, then it's hard for them to even offer up what little staff they do have," Levendofsky said. "Because the work just keeps stacking up, and you can't pile any more on without burnout."
Levendofsky said American farmers are in "the worst financial setting" they've been in since the 1980s farm crisis, as they deal with tight margins, an ongoing trade war and more frequent extreme weather. He said many farmers have limited options when it comes to financial assistance.
"A lot of banks are not willing to put up the money to do this unless they know you've got good collateral," Levendofsky said. "They're not going to put out the risk right now. The federal government can, and the federal government has – and should – do that when they are able."
Texas lost 21% of USDA staff – including 248 employees at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Dale Murden is the president of Texas Citrus Mutual, a trade association made up of the state's citrus growers. Murden said there are over 50 varieties of vegetables grown in Texas, and about 15 million cartons of grapefruits and oranges are produced per year. All that produce needs to be inspected and tested for disease by APHIS.
"We live right on the Rio Grande River, so there's an imaginary wall down there that does not prevent pests and diseases coming up from Mexico and further into South America," Murden said. "So, APHIS is extremely important to our operations in citrus."
APHIS helps manage and test for disease in crops, plants, livestock and wildlife. Murden said that could spell trouble when disease or pests – like the reemerging threat of the New World screwworm – strike.
"We want to make sure that those [agencies] aren't harmed," Murden said. "Anything along this Rio Grande river and border, any cut there would be harmful – very harmful."
Compared to farmers producing U.S. staple crops like corn, wheat and soybeans, Murden said fruit and vegetable producers don't rely on financial assistance from the USDA as much. But when disaster strikes, he said it's difficult for the farmers in his area to receive assistance due to low staffing levels.
The cost of conservation
Farm advocates worry low staffing will also make it harder for farmers to take on expensive conservation projects.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides payment assistance for projects that would otherwise require large, up-front investments. It's the USDA's second largest agency, behind the Forest Service.
NRCS lost about 2,400 staff members, or 21% of staff nationwide, since late 2024.
Kalee Olson, the senior policy manager at the nonprofit Center for Rural Affairs, said the NRCS was hit hard in Nebraska. There, the NRCS lost about a quarter of its staff – nearly 100 people.
"I think what is important to reflect on with that number specifically is that it doesn't just include staff in our state office, but it included staff in our local county offices, and those are the folks who work directly with producers on a day to day basis," Olson said.
NRCS staff provide valuable technical knowledge to farmers on how to accomplish a farm's conservation goals, Olson said. She worries farmers and producers, who often rely on seasonal cycles of decision-making, may not be able to wait around for NRCS assistance.
"[Farmers are] out busy doing their work, tending to their fields or their pastures, and so when they do have time to invest in their operations through a conservation program or practice, we want to make sure that NRCS is ready to meet the moment," Olson said.
The government shutdown in October also halted progress for six weeks, and Olson said farmers could have missed out on projects they planned for.
NRCS programs received investments through the Inflation Reduction Act and One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Olson said makes adequate staffing even more important.
"We remain optimistic that as this historic funding opportunity continues to roll out, the need to have the staffing levels brought back up to normal will be demonstrated very clearly," Olson said.
Research and outreach
Many universities run extension programs that provide non-formal education and outreach services. These extension professionals commonly work in areas such as agriculture, environment, health and finance.
Travis Burke is the assistant dean for agriculture and agribusiness at the University of Illinois Extension. He said extension programs and the USDA are historically linked through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
NIFA provides grant funding to land-grant universities for research and extension programs that work on agricultural and environmental issues. NIFA lost a quarter of its staff, according to the federal data.
University researchers grappled with paused and suspended grant funding last year – both from NIFA and other federal sources. Rodney Johnson, director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Illinois, said the uncertainty has created "an emotional toll."
Through staff losses and grant freezes, Johnson said researchers are also still waiting for proposals to be approved or rejected.
"One affects the other," Johnson said. "When they're shorthanded, it becomes a capacity issue."
But Burke said the nation's biggest challenges will come through the loss of SNAP-Ed. Run through the Food and Nutrition Service, SNAP-Ed helped SNAP recipients make healthier food and lifestyle choices.
The program was cut through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last July. Burke said about 250 Illinois Extension positions funded through SNAP-Ed were eliminated.
"These were all workers who worked directly with limited-resource families and people who were in need and people who needed nutritional assistance," Burke said.
Burke said extension programs will continue to provide agriculture, nutrition and environment resources to the general public.
"As long as people have the need to eat, then we are going to have a need for extension," Burke said.
Organizations like the Center for Rural Affairs in Nebraska are also attempting to fill gaps, but Olson said there are limits to what they can do.
"Our staff aren't necessarily equipped to provide that technical assistance, but what we are equipped to do is help producers connect with one another," Olson said. "Luckily, we have producers across the different geography of the state, in different climate soil types, so that there's a likelihood that we can connect a like-minded means to an end."
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest and Great Plains. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
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