One of the least visible workforce developments of 2025 — the departure of more than 20,000 employees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture — became public just before the week between Christmas and New Year’s, a period that typically draws limited public attention.
According to payroll data reviewed by USDA’s Office of Inspector General, 20,300 employees left the department between mid-January and mid-June, reducing total staffing from roughly 110,300 employees. The departures occurred as USDA prepares to administer an estimated $234 billion in farm, food, nutrition, conservation, and rural development programs in fiscal year 2026.
That projected total does not include additional “emergency” assistance already announced by the White House, which is expected to require separate program administration, oversight, and compliance efforts.
The OIG analysis outlined several broad findings related to the staffing changes:
• Each state experienced an average net loss of approximately 370 USDA employees.
• Of the 20,306 employees who exited USDA during the January-to-June 2025 period, 15,114 departed under the “Deferred Resignation Program” offered by the White House to cabinet agencies.
• An additional 1,636 employees were fired, 1,280 retired, and 1,196 resigned.
• Several agencies with direct producer interaction saw notable declines: the Animal and Plant Inspection Service fell by 25%; the National Agricultural Statistics Service declined by 34%; the Economic Research Service dropped by 29%; and the Farm Service Agency decreased by 24%.
The reductions affected agencies responsible for a range of operational functions, including disease surveillance, statistical reporting, economic analysis, disaster assistance, and loan and conservation program administration.
Two agencies recorded the largest number of departures in absolute terms. The U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources and Conservation Service experienced the highest staffing losses across USDA agencies. The Forest Service, “which oversees millions of acres of federal land,” reported Politico, “lost 5,860 workers,” while NRCS lost 2,673 employees.
Both agencies, Politico reported, had “the highest number of exits across all of USDA’s agencies.”
Lawmakers have raised questions about how staffing reductions could affect program delivery. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the losses “weakens” USDA’s “ability to respond to challenges facing our farmers, leaves our food supply chains more vulnerable… and undermines efforts to drive the rural economy forward.”
At the same time, USDA faces a number of ongoing responsibilities, including implementation of farm support programs, management of animal disease response efforts such as avian influenza and cattle screwworm, and oversight of conservation and rural development initiatives. Farmers and policymakers are also discussing the possibility of additional farm aid in early 2026, which would add to the agency’s workload.
Despite the staffing reductions, USDA is continuing work on a reorganization plan that would relocate additional employees from the Washington, D.C. area beginning in 2026. According to a Dec. 12 report from Government Executive, “While just 10% of the USDA workforce is currently in the Washington area, [USDA] is looking to relocate around 2,600 employees to… five regional hubs” in Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis; Salt Lake City; and Fort Collins, Colorado, while “slashing other regional offices around the country…”
The report said USDA “received overwhelmingly negative feedback on its plan,” noting that employees, lawmakers, and stakeholders raised concerns about potential disruptions to programs and the loss of institutional knowledge.
Of approximately 14,000 public comments that were “not part of an organized campaign,” the report found that 82% expressed a negative sentiment, while 5% expressed a positive tone.
According to Government Executive, these responses are “not expected to deter the Trump administration as it reshapes” USDA.
As USDA enters fiscal year 2026 with reduced staffing levels, larger program responsibilities, and potential policy changes ahead, questions remain about how workforce capacity, program delivery timelines, and agency operations will adjust in the months ahead.
