(The Center Square) – A planned move of U.S. Department of Agriculture jobs from the nation’s capital to Fort Collins could provide a big economic boost to Colorado, a new report says.
The Trump administration announced in July that it plans to relocate 2,600 USDA positions out of 4,600 total currently in the Washington, D.C.-area to five other regional hubs around the country, including Fort Collins. Other hubs would be Raleigh, N.C.; Kansas City, Mo.; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Salt Lake City, Utah.
A report by the Common Sense Institute, a free-enterprise research group, projected different economic outcomes depending on how many positions are relocated to Fort Collins.
“This relocation has the potential to be a transformative development for Fort Collins and for Colorado,” said Dr. Caitlin McKennie, CSI director of research. “The data show that a stronger USDA presence will not only support new jobs directly, but also generate growth across industries and enhance the state’s long-term economic competitiveness.”
According to CSI, if 500 of the 2,600 positions were relocated to Fort Collins, economic output from business would increase by $270 million and gross domestic product would increase by $164 million. If 1,000 jobs were relocated to the city, economic output would increase by $537 million and GDP would increase by $328 million.
If all 2,600 positions were relocated to Fort Collins, which is unlikely since other cities will assume some of the positions, economic output would increase by $1.4 billion and GDP would increase by $854 million, CSI’s projections said.
CSI noted Colorado is a top producer in several crop categories and livestock, and Fort Collins is home to Colorado State University, known for its agricultural sciences.
“The infusion of USDA personnel into Fort Collins will further strengthen the state’s agricultural infrastructure, enhance access to federal resources and research to CSU students and the community, and ensure that policy and programmatic decisions remain closely aligned with the needs of producers on the ground,” CSI said.
The Trump administration said the job reorganization effort is meant “to better align [USDA] with its 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,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement from July. “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.”
“We will do so through a transparent and common-sense process that preserves USDA’s critical health and public safety services the American public relies on,” she added. “We will do right by the great American people who we serve and with respect to the thousands of hardworking USDA employees who so nobly serve their country.”
The USDA relocation would not be the first time the Trump administration moved key jobs away from the Beltway and into other cities.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, his administration moved the Bureau of Land Management from Washington, D.C. to Grand Junction, Colorado, a move that it said would save taxpayers money, but was heavily scrutinized by most Democrats. The Biden administration moved the BLM headquarters back to D.C. in 2021.
