In a recent report from KSHB, 16 employees of the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and 45 employees from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) had completed the move to Kansas City. This comes in at 11% of the 550 selected USDA employees offered the opportunity to move from Washington D.C. to Kansas City by the deadline of Sept. 30.

A total of 15 new employees for the ERS and 4 new NIFA employees will join those that made the move to Missouri, bringing the current total of USDA employees in Kansas City to 80. Additionally, the USDA noted that another 60 USDA employees selected to move had “delayed relocation orders and may relocate at a later date,” according to a USDA spokesperson, potentially bringing the total number of USDA employees to 140.

The USDA has said that it “planned to utilize short-term contractor support and employees on detail from other agencies through the transition,” according to KSHB.

According to a report from the Washington Post, an internal ERS memo obtained by Politico mentioned the delay of over 40 reports due to the staffing shortage, including reports concerning “international markets” and “organic foods.”