Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 2/27/20

ERS' move last summer sent economists fleeing from the agency, out of reluctance to relocate and fear of a broader political crackdown on science within the Agriculture Department. Five months later, only 41 out of 233 positions at the agency's new Kansas City offices have been filled, according to an internal USDA memo obtained by POLITICO.

Current and former staff describe a bleak atmosphere at ERS, which publishes scientific research on farming, trade, nutrition, rural economics, the environment and more. USDA officials say they're mounting a vigorous hiring process — but in the meantime, there's a daunting shortage of institutional knowledge at the agency, writes POLITICO's Jesse Naranjo this a.m.

"It's extremely difficult to work in an environment like this," said Laura Dodson, acting vice president of the union that represents ERS workers. "It's demoralizing and upsetting and weighs on your soul to walk in every morning to an empty office and discarded belongings of employees who were fired, and work on projects that used to be teams of 10 people and now I have to do it by myself."

Why it matters: The agency's reports are often a vital resource for lawmakers in charge of ag policy, farmers and commodity traders alike — all the more so during periods of heavy uncertainty in the industry, like the recent stretch of trade headwinds and historic weather challenges. And employees claim the staffing shortages have hampered production of those studies.

A USDA spokesperson said ERS has "published all calendared reports on time," and claimed its research output is comparable to 2018. But researchers disputed that characterization, arguing that many of the studies being published now have been in the works since before the relocation.