More than 700 USDA workers accepted resignation offers that provided months of paid leave. Now the agency is warning that key biosecurity work, like port inspections and outbreak response, will suffer without them.
As many as 700 USDA workers on the frontlines of pest detection and crop protection have accepted deferred resignation offers. Their departure could slow inspections, delay outbreak response and leave the nation’s crops exposed to invasive species — which could harm the agricultural economy.
