• 01 Jul, 2025

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Over 15,000 employees of the US Department of Agriculture are going voluntarily.

The Trump administration promises a new era of global market expansion. The Minister of Agriculture is visiting the UK, Japan, and Brazil for this purpose. Meanwhile, 15,000 USDA employees have already resigned under pressure.

The Trump administration promises a new era of global market expansion. To achieve this, the Minister of Agriculture is visiting the UK, Japan, and Brazil. Meanwhile, 15,000 USDA employees have already resigned under pressure.

Thousands of employees of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have accepted the voluntary resignation offer from the Trump administration. The downsizing is significant, affecting about 15% of the total workforce of the department, which is responsible for food quality, agricultural policy, and nutrition.

A USDA spokesperson reportedly stated that as of May 1st, 15,182 employees had chosen the resignation offer. "Minister Rollins is working to realign the department to better support the American population more effectively and efficiently, including prioritizing farmers, livestock breeders, and producers. She will not compromise the important work of the department," the spokesperson said.

The Deferred Retirement Program (DRP), a voluntary pension program, is being used for downsizing. According to the Trump administration, the large number of employees at the USDA is due to the previous administration of Joe Biden, which hired a significant number of employees without sustainable funding for their payment, the spokesperson further explained.

Where are the employees specifically going?

According to a report from the US Department of Agriculture, 555 employees of the Food Safety and Inspection Service accepted the resignation offer. More than 1,000 employees of the Farm Service Agency and district offices also announced their resignation, even though Agriculture Minister Brooke Rollins stated that their resignations would not be accepted.

An additional 2,408 employees are leaving the Natural Resources Conservation Service in the second round of deferred resignation offers.

The US Department of Agriculture currently consists of 29 agencies and offices with nearly 100,000 employees at over 4,500 locations in the US and abroad. At the beginning of the year, 6,000 employees were provisionally dismissed, but later reinstated by a federal committee.

Resignations reversed due to avian flu

In February, some resignations were reversed because personnel were needed for state measures to combat avian flu.

The USDA emphasizes the importance of the Food Safety and Inspection Service. As it serves public safety, it is stated that a necessary number of workers will continue to be employed in this area. Initially, there were many resignations in this area after the USDA announced cuts of $1 billion in funding for locally supported food programs.

Government promises a new era of global market expansion

Minister of Agriculture Rollins promised earlier this week to lower egg prices in the coming weeks while simultaneously strengthening foreign agricultural markets.

"A new era of global market expansion is on the horizon, and our team is fully committed to it," Rollins said on Sunday in the CNN program "State of the Union."

She announced plans to visit the UK, Japan, and Brazil in the coming months to expand trade with them. It is well known that business with China has declined in the wake of the trade war waged by the Trump administration.