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Kansas City Region Wins Huge USDA Investment and 500+ New Jobs

  • June 14, 2019

“The Kansas City region has proven itself to be a hub for all things agriculture and is a booming city in America’s heartland,” US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue said. “[The] agriculture talent pool provides a stable work force for the future.”

Secretary Purdue called the site selection process “rigorous” and the decision a “win-win,” allowing the USDA to maximize their mission function through cost savings and proximity to customers, while also providing affordability, easy commutes and extraordinary living for their employees. The USDA expects to realize a cost savings of about $20 million a year.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the announcement means 568 new jobs for the region as both the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will both relocate their headquarters to Kansas City. “The Kansas City Region will allow ERS and NIFA to increase efficiencies and effectiveness and bring important resources and manpower closer to all of our customers,” Secretary Purdue said.

The successful attraction effort saw Missouri and Kansas working closely together at state, regional and local levels. Almost 300 organizations were involved in the successful attraction of USDA to the Kansas City Region.

“This was an amazing team to be a part of,” Missouri Partnership’s Deborah Price said. “The last 10 months have seen so many organizations coming together in a coalition of the willing, from across Missouri and into Kansas. This team, our commitment to excellence, and the phenomenal offerings that Kansas City offers to all businesses and organizations, helped show USDA that this was the place to grow. We are certain those employees who relocate from DC will love living in the region and will be excited about the many benefits of working in Missouri if that is where the project ultimately lands.”

In the coming months, the USDA will announce the final building location choices for their ERS and NIFA headquarters in either Missouri or Kansas. The Missouri team will continue their hard work to show them the benefits of making Missouri their final choice.

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