Newhouse Leads Letter Urging USDA to Address Understaffing at FSA, NRCS

Press Release
For Immediate Release: April 23, 2026
Contact: Juan Ayala, (202) 713-7750

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Wednesday, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) led a letter, signed by 14 other House Members, to Richard Fordyce, the Undersecretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation, asking USDA to address understaffing at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

This letter was signed by Reps. Austin Scott (R-GA), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), David Valadao (R-CA), Derek Schmidt (R-KS), Scott Franklin (R-FL), James Baird (R-MI), Laurel Lee (R-FL), Ben Cline (R-VA), Zach Nunn (R-IA), Don Bacon (R-NE), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), David Rouzer (R-NC), and Mike Flood (R-NE).

Click here(link is external) or see below for the full text of the letter.

The Honorable Richard Fordyce

Undersecretary, Farm Production and Conservation

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Ave, SW

Washington, D.C. 20250

Undersecretary Fordyce,

We want to thank the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the U.S. Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program that was announced at the end of last year. Farmers, ranchers, and producers across the country are at a breaking point due to high input costs and market disruption, and this assistance is a step in the right direction.

We write today to respectfully request USDA address understaffing at Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) county offices across the country. Without proper staffing, it has become increasingly difficult for offices to implement programs, including the FBA. We have heard from our constituents about major delays in application processing, payments, and contract certification over the last several months. While a majority of these concerns have centered around conservation programs and the FBA program, we remain concerned this will be an ongoing issue for all programs under the Farm Production and Conservation mission area.

In comments you made to Agri-Pulse in mid-March acknowledging the staffing concerns, you noted that USDA is looking at ways to address gaps, including deploying staff to affected county offices a few days a week. While we appreciate these comments and believe this has been a helpful step in getting program applications processed and submitted, it is only a temporary solution to an ongoing problem.

To best assist our nation's farmers, ranchers, and producers, there needs to be adequate staffing and resources to deliver on promises made. We appreciate the work USDA is doing on behalf of American agriculture and look forward to working with you to ensure the continued strength and longevity of American farmers.

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