BALTIMORE — A Trump administration plan to shutter one of the nation’s largest agricultural research centers in Prince George’s County has blindsided workers and residents — with opponents fearing it would threaten public health research and yank thousands of federal jobs out of Maryland.

President Donald Trump ordered the reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture by moving about 2,600 agency jobs out of a total of 4,600 in the Capital region to newly created hubs across the country. Several USDA facilities in Maryland and Washington, D.C. would close, including the 6,500-acre Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville.

Opponents are calling the plan to close BARC a devastating setback for agricultural science.

Democratic members of Maryland’s congressional delegation are urging Congress and the courts to block the reorganization, saying a BARC closure would undercut its mission, endanger public safety and waste taxpayers’ dollars.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen slammed the plan’s failure to safeguard existing research and expertise.

“We are going to fight this effort,” the senator told The Baltimore Sun, saying it would “do serious harm” to research benefitting farmers around the U.S. “Shuttering them and disbanding the employees to other parts of the country would do serious harm because a lot of these experts are not going to just pack up their families and leave to other areas.”

Federal workers echoed those sentiments, venting their outrage in angry Reddit posts.

“I’m at BARC and nobody is able to move to one of these hubs,” said one person. “We all have homes, families and friends in the area. People take government positions in part for the stability and because of that build roots where they live.”

Another Reddit commenter lamented “lost collaborations.”

“So many labs; so many scientists, technicians, support staff, postdocs, and students; so much equipment,” the poster said.

The larger reorganization could damage labs and facilities around the country, said members of Maryland’s congressional delegation who issued a joint statement.

“The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) is the foundation of our country’s excellence in agricultural research, with its scientists working for more than 100 years on the front lines of protecting public health and supporting farmers and farming across the country,” said the statement, signed by Van Hollen and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks along with U.S. Representatives Glenn Ivey, Steny Hoyer, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, Sarah Elfreth, Johnny Olszewski and April McClain Delaney.

Trump’s Administration strategy aims to move resources closer to farmers

The reorganization plan was announced July 24 by Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, part of a strategy to move agency resources out of the Capital region and closer to farmers it serves. It would relocate jobs to hubs in three Republican-controlled states, Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Salt Lake City, Utah; as well as to Raleigh, North Carolina, and Fort Collins, Colorado.

It calls for BARC to wind down operations over several years before being vacated. A four-building office complex, visible from the Capital Beltway, would be sold.

Scientists at the agriculture department’s flagship research facility investigate areas such as poultry disease, dairy cattle health and soybean genetics.

“BARC is one of the best-kept secrets in Prince George’s County,” said Owen A. Kelley, a resident of nearby Greenbelt who writes for the Greenbelt Online blog. “Everyone in Maryland knows about NASA Goddard and the University of Maryland, a few miles away, but few people realize that the food we eat has been influenced for the better because of research quietly proceeding over decades at BARC.”

Planned closure follows $50 million federal spending on renovations

The closure was announced less than a year after federal officials earmarked $50 million to upgrade BARC buildings. The agency authorized the spending to repair and modernize facilities found to be unsafe, prompted by a USDA investigation of about 300 buildings and structures. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel in June said findings largely substantiated whistleblowers’ allegations of conditions they said had persisted since 2017, often leaving the campus without running water or flooded due to unstable plumbing. The remediation funds had previously been allocated for a new building at another agriculture research service location.

Plans took union officials by surprise

A spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, which represents workers at BARC, said it was too soon to discuss next steps.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think we have any details yet on what the closure and relocations will look like since the department hasn’t released anything further,” said Tim Kauffman, the AFGE spokesman.

Kauffman said union representatives were not notified about the plan. Federal law requires consultation with labor representatives when an agency reorganizes or relocates workers, he said.

Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden told a Senate committee last week that the department expects the reorganization to save about $4 billion, Politico reported. He said the hub locations were chosen for their lower costs of living, existing USDA workforces and proximity to rural areas, Politico said.

Kelley, the Greenbelt resident, took issue with that reasoning.

“There is plenty of reasonably priced housing surrounding BARC in Prince George’s County, so it’s a great place to start a quality life from that perspective,” he said in an email.

Language in a Senate appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026 would prohibit USDA spending on closing or consolidating any existing agricultural research service labs or facilities without Congressional approval. That provision is expected to face opposition in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Part of Trump’s plan to move federal agencies out of the Capital region, including Maryland

The agriculture department, established in 1862, is reverting to its core mission of serving farmers, ranchers, landowners and rural communities, Rollins said in her memo. Under the agency-wide plan, the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service will reduce its regions from seven to five, aligning with USDA hubs. And the Forest Service will phase out its nine regional offices over the next year. Rollins promised minimal reductions and impacts to wildland firefighting, inspections and farmer and rural community front-line facing positions.

The proposal “reflects President Trump’s commitment to relocate federal agencies beyond the national capital region, reduce bureaucracy, and strengthen USDA’s presence in key agricultural regions across the country,” the USDA said. The agency is accepting public comments on the plan through Aug. 26.

The agency said its workforce has grown by about 8%, while employees’ salaries increased by more than 14.5 %. Under the Trump administration’s voluntary and deferred retirement plans, more than 15,000 USDA workers are leaving in deferred resignations. Such deferments are aimed at helping agencies that rely on fluctuating and temporary workforces, such as the Forest Service, USDA said.

Millions spent to renovate the BARC buildings

The government has done research at BARC in Greenbelt since 1910, investing millions of dollars recently to renovate and expand buildings, most of which were constructed in the 1930s and 1940s, while demolishing others.

The upkeep of the aging buildings prompted a whistleblower complaint in May 2023 filed by three USDA employees in leadership roles at AFGE Local 3147. The complaint accused BARC leadership of putting workers at risk and undermining scientific experiments by failing to properly maintain the worksite. The OSC ordered a USDA investigation, then reported findings on June 25.

“The agency investigation largely substantiated the whistleblowers’ allegations, finding pervasive safety deficiencies in many of the facilities and structures at BARC, including a general lack of housekeeping; excessive dirt and grime; flaking and peeling paint; damaged flooring; active and post flooding and other water intrusions; mold; and a lack of potable water,” the OFC said in the report.

Van Hollen said shutting down the site after spending millions on renovations would mean “flushing taxpayer dollars down the drain.”

And it’s unlikely the land could be sold, he said, citing a 1988 law that restricts land disposal without Congressional approval.

The site has had environmental problems as well.

After decades of soil, water, air, plant and animal sciences work, waste disposal at several former landfills and disposal areas had contaminated soil, groundwater and surface water with hazardous chemicals, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Cleanup of some sites is completed, while feasibility studies are underway at several other areas, the EPA said. Seven operable units are being investigated and cleaned up under the federal Superfund program.

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