Indianapolis Chosen as One of USDA's New Regional Hubs

INDIANAPOLIS — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is preparing for a shake-up and Indianapolis is involved.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced a reorganization of USDA operations that will include relocating much of its agency headquarters and staff out of the Washington, D.C. area to five hub locations across the country.

Rollins said this plan will bring USDA closer to the people it serves and better align them with the founding mission of supporting American farming, ranching, and forestry.

“American agriculture feeds, clothes, and fuels this nation and the world, and it is long past time the Department better serve the great and patriotic farmers, ranchers, and producers we are mandated to support,” Secretary Rollins said in a press release. “President Trump was elected to make real change in Washington, and we are doing just that by moving our key services outside the beltway and into great American cities across the country.”

The move will also make the cost of living more affordable for USDA employees. The Department currently has approximately 4,600 employees within the National Capital Region (NCR) which has one of the highest costs of living in the country. The USDA expects no more than 2,000 employees will remain in the NCR.

The city of Indianapolis entered the picture after Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and a group of stakeholders representing the state’s agriculture industry met with Secretary Rollins last month and pitched Indiana as the best candidate for a USDA hub location. The pitch worked as Indianapolis was selected as one of the five.

The other four hub locations chosen are Raleigh, North Carolina, Kansas City, Missouri, Fort Collins, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Senator Banks praised President Trump for his vision that involves agriculture leaders and Secretary Rollins for choosing Indianapolis as one of the hubs.

“This is a win-win for Indiana and taxpayers across the country,” said Sen. Banks. “It means real economic growth here at home and an agency that’s more efficient and focused on what matters most.”

Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) congratulated the state on being selected to have one of the regional hubs, calling it “very exciting news.”

“Great to see these services move outside of DC and into places like Indiana that feed our nation,” he said in a social media post.

Over the last four years, USDA’s workforce grew by 8% and employees’ salaries increased by 14.5%.

Secretary Rollins said all critical functions of the Department will continue uninterrupted.

USDA’s five hub locations and current Federal locality rates are:

Raleigh, North Carolina (22.24%)
Kansas City, Missouri (18.97%)
Indianapolis, Indiana (18.15%)
Fort Collins, Colorado (30.52%)
Salt Lake City, Utah (17.06%)