The USDA has announced that the headquarters for the Food Safety and Inspection Service will be moved to Iowa as part of continued reorganization within the agency.
As part of the relocation, USDA will establish a new National Food Safety Center in Urbandale, and U.S. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson tells Brownfield…
“It’s a place where it’s serving the people who are actually processing the nation’s food, right in the heartland,” she said. “I think that’s a great signal to the rest of the country that this administration is continuing to support American agriculture.”
The center is set to become USDA’s largest office in the United States with approximately 200 employees, the agency said Thursday.
Hinson, a Republican from Iowa, says state inspection programs are critical.
“We just had our appropriations hearing, subcommittee, this morning for our agriculture appropriations bill and we actually include a pretty good significant increase – a $10.8 million increase for these state inspection programs. They are critical to making sure our frontline meat and poultry inspectors have the tools that they need.”
U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins also announced Thursday that the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture will be relocating some employees to offices in Kansas City. Additionally, the National Agricultural Statistics Service will relocate some positions to St. Louis.
