Arkansas could lose 16 USDA offices (Updated)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will close 259 domestic offices, facilities and labs across the country in the coming months, with 16 of the planned closings in Arkansas.

The Farm Service Agencies in Benton and Washington counties will consolidate. Bentonville’s office will close but its small staff will transfer to the Fayetteville office. There are eight full-time workers between the two offices, according to Ted Collins, executive director for the two counties.

In the Fort Smith area, FSA offices in Paris and Clarksville are also on the government’s closure list. These small offices will consolidate in Ozark according to Linda Newkirk, state director.

She said all three offices are already being overseen by the same executive director, Stephen Atkinson. There is one employee in Paris and two in Clarksville, Newkirk said.

Arkansas Offices Slated to Close
• Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Salem (Fulton County)
Melbourne (Izard County)
North Little Rock (Pulaski County)
Conway (Faulkner County)
Clarksville (Johnson County)
Bentonville (Benton County)
Warren (Bradley County)
Hot Springs (Garland County)
Lewisville (Lafayette County)
Paris (Logan County)

• Natural Resource Conservation Offices (NRCS)
Little Rock (Pulaski County)

• Rural Development Offices (RD)
Melbourne (Izard County)
Conway (Faulkner County)
Searcy (White County)
Malvern (Hot Springs County)
Walnut Ridge (Sevier County)

USDA Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said late Monday the office closures were necessary to avoid furloughs and possible lay-offs as the federal government seeks to trim $150 million from its annual budget.

Vilsack’s “Blueprint for Stronger Service” includes a list of 133 recommendations. The first 27 “initial improvements” include the following:
• Consolidate more than 700 cell phone plans into about 10;
• Standardize civil rights training and purchases of cyber security products;
• Ensure more efficient and effective service to employees by moving toward more centralized civil rights, human resource, procurement, and property management functions, creating millions of dollars in efficiencies without sacrificing the quality of our work; and,
• Close 259 domestic offices, facilities and labs across the country, as well as seven foreign offices.

The USDA statement explained that some offices “are no longer staffed or have a very small staff of one or two people; many are within 20 miles of other.”

"The USDA, like families and businesses across the country, cannot continue to operate like we did 50 years ago," said Vilsack. "We must innovate, modernize, and be better stewards of the taxpayers' dollars.”

UPDATED INFO: U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said his office is working to ensure any savings from such an action will be used to reduce the national deficit and not be redirected to other spending.

"Consolidating offices is a commonsense approach to eliminating government waste, fraud and abuse. However, we must ensure that our ability to serve our rural communities and agri-businesses continues with the same commitment. While Arkansans are happy to help put us on the path of fiscal responsibility, they should not be expected to make all of the sacrifices. Washington should be expected to tighten its belt as well." Boozman said in a statement. "Our office is in the process of reviewing these closures to ensure Arkansas's needs will continue to be met, and we expect the administration will use these savings to reduce the deficit and not for new spending on other programs in the administration."

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, said the impact on Arkansas 3rd Congressional District appears “minimal.”

"While this decision affects offices in Benton and Johnson counties, access to these agencies should not significantly be affected,” Womack said in a statement. "I understand how important production agriculture is to the economy of the Third District, and I want to ensure our farmers and ranchers have access to these vital services and programs. But again, this decision does not appear to significantly affect that access."

Continuing, Womack noted: "With a $15 trillion debt and trillion-dollar-plus deficits, programs and services offered by the federal government will continue to be carefully scrutinized for relevance and value."