Nebraska USDA Workers Face Unprecedented Layoffs

By Mark Moran

Mass layoffs by the Trump administration are cutting into essential services across the federal government.

In Nebraska, that includes overseeing the U.S. Department of Agriculture's response to the avian flu outbreak, working with state agencies that regulate large animal confinement operations.

One-third of the Nebraska workers across three USDA divisions have lost their jobs - including at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center.

New U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says the agency is "eliminating positions that are no longer necessary."

But Nebraska Farmer's Union President John Hansen said many of the federal programs help the state's farmers and ranchers meet conservation goals.

"Putting solar panels on their hog units," said Hansen, "or they're making improvements in their cropping system, or they're updating their diesel irrigation engine and moving it into an electric motor system."

The USDA makes funds available to CAFO operators trying to implement more environmentally friendly practices and reduce toxic manure runoff that can affect air quality and groundwater.

It isn't clear what will happen to those programs or the people who still work there.

Hansen added that some Nebraska farmers decided to upgrade their operations because they had federal funds to help them.

Now, he said they may no longer have access to that money, which leaves them in the lurch.