HYDE-SMITH SAYS USDA REORGANIZATION WILL BRING NEW RESOURCES, PERSONNEL TO STONEVILLE & MISSISSIPPI STATE

HYDE-SMITH SAYS USDA REORGANIZATION WILL BRING NEW RESOURCES, PERSONNEL TO STONEVILLE & MISSISSIPPI STATE

New Restructuring Plan Departs from Initial Proposals to 'Eliminate' Area Offices like ARS Stoneville

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today said the effort to reorganize the U.S. Department of Agriculture bureaucracy will result in new Agriculture Research Service (ARS) resources and personnel to Mississippi.

Hyde-Smith, who gained the administration's commitment last July to ensure the future of the ARS Southeast Area Office in Stoneville, was briefed by USDA officials on how the agency's reorganization plan would affect Mississippi on Thursday. Details released Thursday are a departure from initial reports that indicated USDA would "eliminate" ARS area offices.

"The final details are still being worked out, but I am very pleased that the USDA reorganization plan recognizes the value of the research being led by Stoneville and Mississippi State University. Not only will this important work continue in Stoneville and Starkville, but its importance will grow under plan being implemented by Secretary Brooke Rollins, Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden, and their team," Hyde-Smith said.

"I will continue to advocate for Mississippi through USDA's reorganization efforts and work with the administration to see that this transition takes place. I continue to support President Trump's goal to make the USDA more efficient, fiscally sustainable, and responsive to farmers and producers," the Senator added.

Under the USDA restructuring, the ARS Southeast Area Office will have a new mission as the Office of Plant Science Research. This new office will provide research direction and operational leadership for ARS plant research nationwide. The current research activities taking place at ARS Stoneville, such as warmwater aquaculture research that are unique to the Mississippi Delta, will remain. Three other ARS national research offices will be established in other parts of the country with different areas of focus.

In addition, Mississippi would gain 17 additional permanent ARS employees and nine projects ($4.46 million overall) as the USDA begins to decommission its Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland and relocate its research programs. Of these gains, 13 employees and eight projects will be reassigned to Stoneville, while three employees and one project will be directed to Mississippi State University.

Hyde-Smith has used her roles on the Senate Agriculture Committee and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee to direct resources to strengthen Mississippi's agricultural research capabilities and to support producers in the state and region.

At a hearing last year, Deputy Secretary Vaden testified that the goal of the reorganization effort was to shift more USDA employees out of the Washington, D.C., region, including relocating research programs to facilities across the country better aligned with regional agricultural needs.

Further details about the overall reorganization plan are expected soon on the USDA website.

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