As we are emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses are looking for workers, even the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)are both woefully understaffed. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the Senate Appropriations Committee that it is taking time to bring the departments back up to pre-COVID levels.
There are guidelines for all returning workers who have not been vaccinated. This is causing more challenges in the offices themselves.
Vilsack said that there is no worry about the work getting done. He says the understaffed offices are keeping up with the average speeds set in the years before the pandemic.
Vilsack says he understands that some employees are still hesitant to return as they are making family and life adjustments, such as childcare, to enable them to come back. He also said he is committed to the producers who rely on the office to run at peak efficiency.
