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MICHAEL F. BENNET AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORES THY Wnited States Senate ‘nee FINANCE oni WASHINGTON, De 29610-0609 area HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, Snhtmateereae ‘AND PENSIONS. February 8, 2018 ‘The Honorable Sonny Perdue, Secretary United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250 Dear Secretary Perdue: We write to express our concern with existing vacancies among field staff at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Colorado. The failure to fill USDA field positions is hurting Colorado agriculture and the communities it supports. In your written response to my questions following your confirmation hearing, you acknowledged that FSA programs are a critical tool to help develop rural economies. In subsequent hearings, you acknowledged the need for improved customer service at FSA and NRCS and continued to assure us that the President’s proposed budget would not harm USDA programs. Despite these assurances, the lack of field staff at USDA offices across Colorado is making it difficult for our farmers and ranchers to do their jobs. Two major agriculture counties in our state, Yuma County and Phillips County, currently do not have FSA County Executive Directors, Among the three FSA offices that cover Pueblo, El Paso, Park, Teller, Chaffee, Fremont, and Custer Counties, there is not @ single County Executive Director. Despite these vacancies, to our knowledge, there are no employces in training to fill these roles. On the Western Slope, the Grand Junction office lacks a Farm Loan Officer—despite the fact it serves nearly a quarter of the state (Gunnison, Montrose, Delta, Mesa, Garfield, Rio Blanco, Moffat, Routt, Jackson, Grand, Eagle, and Pitkin Counties). It is our understanding that as many as three Farm Loan Officers are now eligible for retirement, but there is not a single individual in the Farm Loan Officer Training (FLOT) program. Over the last year, our office has heard reports that USDA continues to prevent FSA and NRCS from filling open positions and has significantly lowered statewide staft ceilings, We are aware of at least 12 districts in Colorado that do not have NRCS district conservationists. Tere are additional vacancies for soil conservationist positions across the state. Conservationists play a vital role in Colorado’s rural economies, providing technical assistance and administrative support to farmers, ranchers, water and soil conservation districts, and foresters, It is clear that this hiring freeze—which ignores input from local farmers, ranchers, and businesses in the West—is hurting one of Colorado's most important industries. We urge you to end the hiring freeze and move quickly to ensure FSA and NRCS offices have the resources and staff necessary to support Colorado agriculture in 2018 and into the future. Sincerely, fe Fh United States Senator Michael F. Bennet

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