Senator questions USDA’s California bias in reorganization. Is he right? | Opinion

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s explanation of how five regional hubs were chosen to replace the department’s centralized office in Washington, D.C. is plain hogwash.

A week after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a reorganization plan she said was better suited to “serve the great and patriotic farmers, ranchers and producers we are mandated to support,” she introduced a 30-day comment period for a plan she said was “95% baked.”

Rollins, at a USDA event last Sunday in the nation’s capital, told reporters that “most of America seems to love” the reorganization plan.

“The uniparty here in Washington, D.C., hasn’t been quite as excited about it,” she added.

Why should they? The plan was put together without any input from farmers, their advocates or federal lawmakers.

If Rollins is virtually certain that hubs will be established in Utah, Colorado, Indiana, Missouri and North Carolina, why even give farmers, ranchers and those interested in the issue — including federal lawmakers who were not told about the reorganization until minutes before Rollins made the announcement on July 24 — the impression that their thoughts have weight?

“We worked six months on that plan,” Rollins said Sunday. “I feel really good about it. If I were to game it, I’d say it’s about 95% baked. But (we’re) always open and willing and excited to get that feedback; and I expect a lot more.”

Looks like Rollins baked a casserole for dinner, then asked invited guests what they’d prefer. No choice or input.

Why was California overlooked?

Rollins sent USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden to meet with the Senate Committee on Agriculture last Friday to explain the reorganization. Vaden, who took the job on July 6, left more questions with his answers.

Why was California, the country’s top ag-producing state, overlooked for a hub?

“The simple answer is cost of living,” Vaden told Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California. “We were looking at the cost of living for reasons that I noted. We want people to join USDA, to build a career, to be able to purchase a home.”

Fresno, the heart of California’s vaunted cropland, has a 17.65% federal locality rate, a system of balancing the base pay of federal employees to account for cost of living across the country. Salt Lake City, chosen to host the USDA’s westernmost hub, has a 17.06% rate. All the other hubs — Fort Collins (30.52%), Indianapolis (18.15%), Kansas City (18.97%) and Raleigh (22.24%) — have higher rates.

Why did the USDA reorganization overlook the country’s five top ag-producing states: Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and Illinois? Vaden referred to the cost of living for not placing a hub in those states.

If that was the case, San Antonio, Texas (18.78%), Des Moines, Iowa (18.1%), Lincoln, Neb. (16.33%) and Springfield, Ill. (20.63) have lower cost of living rates.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, called the reorganization plan “half-baked.”

Senator suspects anti-California bias

Ignore the fact that Rollins has yet to sully her shoes by visiting the state with $59.46 billion in cash receipts for all ag commodities. Schiff believes the USDA is abandoning the Golden State.

The freshman senator pointed out that the state is losing an Agricultural Research Service office in the reorganization. We’re also getting all of our conservation program grants canceled and losing out on $20 billion in disaster relief because qualifications have been narrowly tailored for a “few states in the southeast.”

“It’s hard not to perceive this as a political calculation, rather than one that’s in the best interest of farmers, given our dominance in agriculture,” Schiff told Vaden. “What do you have to say to California farmers who are feeling that the administration, the president, is not representing them? That he’s punishing them because the state didn’t vote for him?”

“That’s not the case at all,” Vaden said.

The deputy secretary said the research service office closure was due to President Donald Trump’s budget and not part of the reorganization. He also said USDA employees will be much closer to California farmers. A second round of disaster relief grants is on its way, Vaden said.

If Rollins is serious about making the USDA more accessible to farmers, she must personally meet with them. To date, she has not set foot in California’s farmlands.