(Washington, D.C., October 22, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has received 136 expressions of interest from parties in 35 states interested in becoming the new homes of the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). In August, Perdue announced that most ERS and NIFA personnel would be moving to outside the National Capital Region by the end of 2019 and invited interested parties to submit proposals, with a deadline which had been extended to October 15, 2018. USDA intends to select the new location or locations by January 2019 and will retain a consultant with expertise in relocations.
“The interest from across the country has been overwhelming as localities, universities, private entities, and elected officials realize the potential for their communities in become the new home for these two agencies,” Perdue said. “It is an old saying that not all wisdom resides in Washington, D.C., but it is gratifying to see so many folks step forward wanting to prove that to be the case. We look forward to working with Ernst & Young in examining all of the proposals and selecting the new locations.”
States represented in the expressions of interest are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The entities expressing interest in hosting ERS and NIFA include educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, state development agencies, county development agencies, municipalities, and for-profit entities. USDA has also received letters of support from a number of governors, members of Congress, farm-related organizations, and state and local officials. It is possible that ERS and NIFA will be co-located when their new homes are found. A yet-to-be-determined amount of staff from the two agencies will remain in the National Capital Region.
USDA is undertaking the relocations for a variety of reasons. The move will place important USDA resources closer to many stakeholders, most of whom live and work far from the Washington, D.C. area. Additionally, taxpayers will realize significant savings on employment costs and rent, which will allow more employees to be retained in the long run, even in the face of tightening budgets. Finally, the plan will improve USDA’s ability to attract and retain highly qualified staff with training and interests in agriculture, many of whom come from land-grant universities.
Under the plan, no ERS or NIFA employees will be involuntarily separated. Every employee who wants to continue working will have an opportunity to do so, although that will mean moving to a new location for most. Employees will be offered relocation assistance and will receive the same base pay as before, and the locality pay for the new location. For those who are interested, USDA is seeking approval from the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget for both Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments.
Perdue also noted that 91 percent of USDA’s approximately 108,000 employees currently work outside of the Washington, D.C. region.
As part of the changes, ERS will be aligned with the Office of the Chief Economist under the Office of the Secretary. This represents a return to its previous positioning when ERS was aligned under the Assistant Secretary for Economics within the Office of the Secretary.
Perdue previously announced other significant reorganizations at USDA. In May 2017, USDA created the first-ever Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs and reconstituted and renamed the new Farm Production and Conservation mission area, among other realignments. In addition, in September 2017, Perdue realigned a number of offices to improve customer service and maximize efficiency. Those actions involved innovation, consolidation, and the rearrangement of certain offices into more logical organizational reporting structures.
136 Expressions of Interest
|
State |
Location |
Applicant(s) |
|---|---|---|
|
AL |
Birmingham |
City of Birmingham; University of Alabama at Birmingham; Auburn University; Tuskegee University; Alabama A&M University; Economic Development Association of Alabama |
|
AL |
Auburn University |
Auburn Research and Technology Foundation/Auburn University |
|
AL |
Shelby County |
City of Hoover, Shelby County, 58 INC. – the nonprofit economic coalition of Shelby County, the Birmingham Business Alliance, Alabama Power Company, Harbert Realty Services, and Select Income REIT / RMR Group |
|
AR |
Arkansas |
Arkansas Economic Development Commission |
|
AR |
Jonesboro/Northeast Arkansas Coalition |
City of Jonesboro, Craighead County, Jonesboro Unlimited, Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Northeast Arkansas Economic Development Coalition |
|
AZ |
Tempe |
Arizona Commerce Authority; Arizona State University and the Arizona Department of Agriculture |
|
AZ |
Tucson |
Arizona Commerce Authority; Sun Corridor Inc., the University of Arizona and the Arizona Department of Agriculture |
|
CA |
Folsom |
Newmark Knight Frank |
|
CA |
Greater Sacramento |
Greater Sacramento Economic Council |
|
CA |
Rancho Cordova |
Newmark Knight Frank |
|
CA |
Rancho Cordova |
Newmark Knight Frank |
|
CA |
Sacramento |
Newmark Knight Frank |
|
CA |
Lucerne |
The Lucerne Area Revitalization Association |
|
CO |
Denver |
Cottonwood Management Company |
|
CO |
Denver |
Forest City Trust |
|
CO |
Denver |
Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation |
|
CO |
Aurora |
Aurora Economic Development Council |
|
DE |
Newark |
University of Delaware |
|
FL |
City of Newberry |
City of Newberry |
|
GA |
Tifton County |
Tifton County Development Authority and Georgia Department of Economic Development |
|
GA |
Griffin Spalding County |
Griffin-Spalding Development Authority, Rooker, UGA and Georgia Department of Economic Development |
|
GA |
Athens-Clarke County |
Athens-Clarke County Development Authority and Nichols Land & Investment Company and Georgia Department of Economic Development |
|
GA |
Statesboro-Bulloch County |
Development Authority of Bulloch County and Georgia Department of Economic Development |
|
IA |
Ankeny |
City of Ankeny/ Greater Des Moines Partnership, Cultivation Corridor, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority |
|
IA |
West Des Moines |
City of West Des Moines |
|
IA |
Ames |
City of Ames and Iowa State University |
|
IA |
Council Bluffs |
Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation; City of Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County |
|
IA |
Des Moines |
City of Des Moines; Greater Des Moines Partnership |
|
IA and IL |
Quad Cities |
Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce |
|
IL |
Algonquin |
Village of Algonquin |
|
IL |
Greater Peoria |
Greater Peoria Economic Development Council |
|
IL |
Peoria |
Maloof Commercial Real Estate |
|
IL |
Warrenville |
NAI Hiffman |
|
IL |
Schaumburg |
Village of Schaumburg |
|
IL |
DuPage County |
economic development agency for DuPage County, Illinois |
|
IL |
Kane County |
Kane County |
|
IL |
Decatur |
Economic Development Corp. of Decatur & Macon County |
|
IL |
Orland Park |
Orland Park, State of Illinois, Will County, Illinois Intersect and the Will County Center for Economic Development |
|
IL |
Huntley |
Village of Huntley |
|
IL |
Des Plaines |
City of Des Plaines |
|
IL |
Champaign |
Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Parkland College, the University of Illinois Research Park, LLC, and Champaign and Urbana. |
|
IL |
Barrington |
Village of Barrington; Bourns Inc |
|
IN |
Multiple |
Indiana Economic Development Corporation; AgriNovus Indiana, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) and Purdue University |
|
IN |
Evansville |
Hahn Kiefer Real Estate Services |
|
KS |
Wichita |
The Greater Wichita Partnership |
|
KS |
Salina |
Salina Community Economic Development Organization in cooperation with the City of Salina, Saline County, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, Salina Airport Authority and numerous private sector developers/realtors along with representatives from the Kansas State Polytechnic Campus, Kansas Wesleyan University and Salina Area Technical College. |
|
KS |
Salina |
Salina Community Economic Development Organization |
|
KS |
Manhattan |
Knowledge Based Economic Development, LLC/university and community economic development partnership |
|
KS |
Lawrence |
Lawrence Chamber & Economic Development Corporation, the City of Lawrence, Douglas County, and the Bioscience & Technology Business Center (BTBC), has combined efforts with the University of Kansas and the KU Endowment Association |
|
KS and MO |
Greater Kansas City Region |
The Kansas City Area Development Council |
|
LA |
Baton Rouge |
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC), along with partners Louisiana Economic Development (LED), Baton Rouge Area Foundation(BRAF), Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry (LDAF), Louisiana State University (LSU), and Southern University and & Mechanical College (SUAM) Agricultural |
|
MD |
Salisbury |
Wicomico Economic Development |
|
MD |
Montgomery County |
Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation |
|
MD |
Hanover |
Tritower Financial Group |
|
MD |
Somerset County |
Somerset County Economic Development Commission |
|
MD |
Frederick County |
Frederick County Office of Economic Development |
|
MD |
Laurel |
Newtower Trust Company |
|
MD |
Centreville |
town of Centerville; Emory Properties |
|
MD |
Caroline County |
Caroline County |
|
MD |
Queen Anne |
KRM Development Corp, Queen Anne County Economic Development |
|
MD |
Kent County |
KRM Development Corp, Kent County Economic Development |
|
MD |
College Park |
University of Maryland College Park |
|
MD |
Baltimore |
Cushmanwakefield |
|
MD |
Charles County |
Charles County Economic Development Department |
|
MI |
East Lansing |
Michigan State University, State of Michigan, Capital Region International Airport (LAN), Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau, Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP), Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Michigan Farm Bureau |
|
MN |
Shakopee |
The Opus Group |
|
MN |
Minneapolis |
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Saint Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership (GREATER MSP), and the Minnesota Food and Agriculture Initiative |
|
MN |
Falcon Heights |
Buhl Investors |
|
MO |
Springfield |
Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce |
|
MO |
Kansas City |
HPI Group |
|
MO |
KANSAS CITY |
805 Penn |
|
MO |
St. Louis |
A consortium of regional leaders across six counties in Missouri and Illinois; State of Missouri and Missouri’s Departments of Agriculture, Economic Development, and Workforce Development, as well as the Missouri Partnership |
|
MO |
Multiple |
State of Missouri; Missouri Partnership |
|
MO |
St Joseph |
St Joseph Economic Development Partnership |
|
MT |
Missoula |
Missoula Economic Partnership |
|
MT |
Bozeman |
The Montana State University Innovation Campus |
|
MT |
Billings |
Big Sky Economic Development;WC Commercial, LLC |
|
NC |
Greensboro-High Point |
Guilford County Economic Development Alliance |
|
NC |
Kannapolis |
The North Carolina Research Campus; the city of Kannapolis, Cabarrus and Rowan Counties, and the state of North Carolina |
|
NC |
Research Triangle Region |
Wake County, Durham County and Research Triangle Park |
|
NC |
Chapel Hill |
State Employee Credit Union |
|
ND |
Fargo |
Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation, the ND Department of Commerce, Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce,Bank of North Dakota, City of Fargo, NDSU |
|
NE |
Omaha |
SPW Partners G and S and CBRE MEGA |
|
NE |
Sidney |
City of Sidney and Cheyenne County, Nebraska Economic Development Partnership |
|
NE |
Lincoln |
The Nebraska consortium, led by Governor Pete Ricketts and former USDA Secretary Mike Johanns and including the State of Nebraska, University of Nebraska system, City of Lincoln, Nebraska Innovation Campus Development Corporation, Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Omaha Chamber of Commerce, and public and private business and |
|
NY |
Greater Rochester |
FLX Food and Beverage Consortium is led by Greater Rochester Enterprise, a not-for-profit economic development organization. Members of the Consortium include Cornell University and the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; the Cornell Agriculture and Technology Farm; Empire State Development; the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets; the New York State Governor’s Office; Rochester Institute of Technology; Tompkins County Area Development; the University of Rochester; and Wegmans Food Markets Inc. |
|
OH |
Akron |
County of Summit |
|
OH |
Ashtabula County |
Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County |
|
OH |
Darke County |
Darke County Commissioners |
|
OH |
Geauga County |
Geauga County Department of Development |
|
OH |
Madison Village |
Administrator Madison Village |
|
OH |
Middlefield Village |
Village of Middlefield |
|
OH |
Portage County |
Portage Development Board |
|
OH |
Twinsburg |
City of Twinsburg |
|
OH |
Warren |
Cafaro Company |
|
OH |
Youngstown |
Western Reserve Port Authority; City of Waren and Howland Township |
|
OK |
Pawnee County |
Pawnee County Economic Development Foundation |
|
OK |
Stillwater |
Stillwater Chamber of Commerce partnered with Oklahoma State University, Langston University, and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce |
|
OK |
Tulsa |
GEORGE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION |
|
PA |
Fayette County |
County Commissioner |
|
PA |
Hanover Township |
Private Citizen |
|
PA |
Clarion |
Clarion Trinity Development Co |
|
PA |
Clarion |
Miles Brothers |
|
SC |
Columbia |
State of South Carolina (including; South Carolina Department of Commerce, Clemson University, South Carolina Department of Agriculture, and Richland County’s Economic Development Office) |
|
SD |
Brookings |
City of Brookings; Brookings Economic Development Corporation |
|
SD |
Sioux Falls |
Sioux Falls Development Foundation; South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development City of Sioux Falls |
|
TN |
Knoxville |
University of Tennessee, Knoxville/University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTK/UTIA); University of Tennessee, Martin (UTM); Tennessee State University (TSU); and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) |
|
TN |
Memphis |
Agricenter International |
|
TX |
Dallas |
HPI Group |
|
TX |
College Station |
Texas A&M AgriLife Research |
|
TX |
Amarillo/Lubbock |
Amarillo Economic Development Corporation; Lubbock Economic Development Alliance |
|
TX |
San Marcos |
Greater San Marcos Partnership; San Marcos, Hays County and Texas State University |
|
UT |
Tooele County |
Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Tooele County, Tooele City, Utah State University, and the Economic Development Corporation of Utah |
|
VA |
Spotsylvania County |
County of Spotsylvania |
|
VA |
Caroline County |
Caroline County Department of Economic Development |
|
VA |
Charlottesville |
University of Virginia Foundation |
|
VA |
Greene County |
County of Greene; Central Virginia Partnership in Economic Development; Virginia Economic Development Partnership; Fried Companies, Inc; Jones Lang LaSalle |
|
VA |
Loudoun County |
Loudoun County, Virginia Economic Development |
|
VA |
Prince William |
Prince William County Department of Economic Development |
|
VA |
Richmond |
The Riverstone Group, LLC |
|
VA |
Richmond |
Thompson |
|
VA |
Petersburg |
Virginia State University and the Petersburg metropolitan region |
|
VA |
Stafford County |
Stafford County Department of Economic Development & Tourism |
|
VA |
Danville |
City of Danville |
|
VA |
Winchester |
City of Winchester |
|
VA |
Fredericksburg |
City Of Fredricksburg |
|
VA |
Spotsylvania County |
The Vakos Companies |
|
VA |
Bristol |
Washington County; One Alpha Place, LLC; Callebs Commercial Realty and Jones Lang LaSalle |
|
VA |
Madison County |
Madison County; The Lester Group |
|
VA |
Spotsylvania |
Gutierrez |
|
VA |
Fredericksburg |
The Cafaro Company |
|
WA |
Tri-Cities |
Tri-Cities |
|
WI |
Madison |
City of Madison, the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS), University of Wisconsin–Madison Office of University Relations, University Research Park, State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, and 910 Mayer, LLC |
|
WV |
Fairmont |
High Technology Foundation |
|
WV |
Harrison County |
Harrison County Economic Development Corporation |
|
WY |
Cheyenne/Laramie |
Cheyenne, Laramie and University of Wyoming |
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