NORTHAMPTON — U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern and several colleagues are criticizing a proposed reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which could include closing a Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Amherst and other sites throughout New England.
With a memo from Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins released on July 24 that suggests the shuttering of USDA offices and various streamlining initiatives, McGovern, who was joined by Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, and Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., in leading the delegation in calling out the plans in a letter to to Rollins.
“This wrongheaded move, done without consultation with or even notification to Congress and without the consultation of key stakeholders, will significantly impact farmers and Americans who rely on modest federal nutritional assistance to feed their families,” states the letter, which was also signed by U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal and four other Massachusetts members of Congress, as well as those in Congress representing New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The website for the Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Amherst lists 27 employees, with staff including biologists, natural resource specialists and resource conservationists and workers who handle everything from farm bill programs to ecological sciences. The NRCS office is identified as a 22,428-square-foot building with a $484,122 annual lease.
“We have serious concerns about the possibility of a reduction in the NRCS footprint in the northeast,” the letter states. “Although, your new memo fails to make clear exactly which offices will be eliminated. Make no mistake, any attempt to reduce NRCS staff in our region will hurt our farmers.”
The letter also references the possible impacts this plan will have on the Food and Nutrition Service and planned closure of the Northeast Regional Office in Boston. That oversees the administration of federal nutrition assistance programs and its closure, as well as the closure of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, would leave the Northeast
region without a Food and Nutrition Service presence.
The legislators are asking for a response by Aug. 29, including a list of offices that would be closed and positions to be moved out of the Northeast.
“Finally, we strongly urge you to immediately revoke this memorandum, which will negatively impact farmers and families living in the northeast,” the letter states.