Washington, D.C. — The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) today submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on its proposed reorganization plan, emphasizing the need to maintain USDA’s field-based service delivery, safeguard cooperative support programs, and ensure continuity of critical services.
“Farmer cooperatives are vital to the strength of American agriculture and rural communities,” said Duane Simpson, NCFC President & CEO. “The success of USDA’s reorganization will not be judged by flowcharts in Washington, but by whether farmers, co-ops, and rural families can continue to access the programs and resources they rely on every day.”
In its comments, NCFC highlighted several areas of concern and priority for farmer cooperatives:
- Field-Based Service Delivery: Preserve USDA’s trusted county and regional staff, backfill vacancies before consolidations, and ensure regional hubs support—rather than replace—local offices.
- Technical Assistance: Partner with cooperatives to expand access to conservation and risk management support, addressing backlogs in the Technical Service Provider program.
- Commodity Procurement: Retain specialized Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) procurement staff and resist merging these functions into USDA’s broader Office of Contracting and Procurement, which operates on longer timelines ill-suited to market-sensitive food purchasing.
- Rural Development & Co-op Support: Keep Rural Business–Cooperative Service functions within USDA, where institutional expertise and local presence are critical to serving rural communities.
- Continuity of Services: Establish clear protocols to avoid disruptions in conservation, nutrition, and cooperative development programs during the transition.
Farmer cooperatives are a critical link in the agricultural economy, with more than $300 billion in annual sales, serving 1.8 million farmer-members, and employing 200,000 people nationwide. These co-ops depend on USDA’s expertise and responsiveness to support their members and strengthen rural communities.
“NCFC and our members stand ready to work alongside USDA to ensure this reorganization strengthens, rather than weakens, the Department’s role as a partner to America’s farmers and rural communities,” Simpson added.
