MICHAEL F. BENNET
AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORES THY Wnited States Senate ‘nee
FINANCE oni
WASHINGTON, De 29610-0609 area
HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, Snhtmateereae
‘AND PENSIONS.
February 8, 2018
‘The Honorable Sonny Perdue, Secretary
United States Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250
Dear Secretary Perdue:
We write to express our concern with existing vacancies among field staff at the Farm Service
Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Colorado. The failure to
fill USDA field positions is hurting Colorado agriculture and the communities it supports.
In your written response to my questions following your confirmation hearing, you
acknowledged that FSA programs are a critical tool to help develop rural economies. In
subsequent hearings, you acknowledged the need for improved customer service at FSA and
NRCS and continued to assure us that the President’s proposed budget would not harm USDA
programs.
Despite these assurances, the lack of field staff at USDA offices across Colorado is making it
difficult for our farmers and ranchers to do their jobs. Two major agriculture counties in our
state, Yuma County and Phillips County, currently do not have FSA County Executive Directors,
Among the three FSA offices that cover Pueblo, El Paso, Park, Teller, Chaffee, Fremont, and
Custer Counties, there is not @ single County Executive Director. Despite these vacancies, to our
knowledge, there are no employces in training to fill these roles.
On the Western Slope, the Grand Junction office lacks a Farm Loan Officer—despite the fact it
serves nearly a quarter of the state (Gunnison, Montrose, Delta, Mesa, Garfield, Rio Blanco,
Moffat, Routt, Jackson, Grand, Eagle, and Pitkin Counties). It is our understanding that as many
as three Farm Loan Officers are now eligible for retirement, but there is not a single individual in
the Farm Loan Officer Training (FLOT) program.
Over the last year, our office has heard reports that USDA continues to prevent FSA and NRCS
from filling open positions and has significantly lowered statewide staft ceilings, We are aware
of at least 12 districts in Colorado that do not have NRCS district conservationists. Tere are
additional vacancies for soil conservationist positions across the state. Conservationists play a
vital role in Colorado’s rural economies, providing technical assistance and administrative
support to farmers, ranchers, water and soil conservation districts, and foresters,It is clear that this hiring freeze—which ignores input from local farmers, ranchers, and
businesses in the West—is hurting one of Colorado's most important industries. We urge you to
end the hiring freeze and move quickly to ensure FSA and NRCS offices have the resources and
staff necessary to support Colorado agriculture in 2018 and into the future.
Sincerely,
fe Fh
United States Senator
Michael F. Bennet