DES MOINES, Iowa — The U.S. Agriculture Department announced Monday it will close nearly 260 offices nationwide, a move that won praise for cutting costs but raised concerns about the possible effect on food safety.
PIERRE, S.D. — When farmers need to check honey prices so they can decide whether to sell, there’s been a report for that. And when catfish and sheep farmers want to check production in their industries, there’ve been reports for that, too. The U.S. Agriculture Department has kept tabs for decades on a wide range of agricultural industries that generate billions of dollars for the U.S. economy. But that’s about to change, as the agency eliminates some reports and reduces the frequency of others to save millions of dollars in tight budget times.