The USDA proposal to relocate the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Economic Research Service (ERS) out of the nation’s capital and to realign the ERS to report to the Office of the Chief Economist rather than to the Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE) has created an unfortunate conflict between the US Department of Agriculture and the agricultural research community. While I am a retiree and speak only for myself, this is a fight that need not and should not be.
