STONEVILLE, Miss.–The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Southeast Area office in Stoneville may have been a target for “reorganization”, under a plan being considered by the USDA to save money and at the same time cut bureaucracy.
However, according to U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden, offered some assurance Wednesday during a Senate Ag Committee hearing that the office would remain open and active.
The Stoneville office is the largest agriculture research facility in the southeast. Hyde-Smith said that its closure would have a negative effect on the Delta’s economy and put people out of work.
“This location provides careers, expertise and economic opportunity in that area that struggles with poverty,” she said.
She said if the employees were reassigned it would run counter to the agency’s stated goal of moving people away from DC and closer to the customer base.
