Illinois led the US in direct, producer support staff losses, report says

Illinois lost more Farm Service Agency staff in 2025 than any other state, according to a June report. Those losses followed federal cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and various sub-agencies under the department’s umbrella.

The data, published by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition — a group of grassroots organizations that advocate for sustainable agriculture, food systems, natural resources and rural communities — shows that 51 FSA county staff in 41 counties across the state were cut in Illinois. The coalition obtained the information with a Freedom of Information Act request.

“While our previous post showed that all USDA agencies lost staff during 2025, losses of direct farmer-support staff at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) are particularly concerning as farmers face an ongoing crisis and struggle to stay on the land,” the authors wrote.

The nationwide report includes every state, and Investigate Midwest analyzed the Illinois numbers.

According to the data, Illinois had 436 FSA county staff in January 2025. By January 2026, the number was reduced to 385.

FSA county employees offer producers a direct, local connection to USDA programs and resources, and they administer most USDA grants. They also help handle crises like disease outbreaks and natural disasters, and they implement policy.

FSA offices also give local farmers and ranchers a seat at the table with advisory boards called county committees. By law, those are made up of local, elected farmers and ranchers.

Champaign County lost the most staff of any county in Illinois — four staff members in total — which left the office with five employees. Many of these county offices were already understaffed.

Jackson County lost one staffer, but it only had two employees in the office in 2025. Ford County had four employees in 2025, and three were gone by January 2026.

Nineteen Illinois counties didn’t have any FSA staffers in 2025, and 39 counties didn’t lose any people in county offices.

“The positions with the steepest losses are County Program Analysts, a direct farmer-facing role where staff helps with ‘interpreting and explaining procedures, program regulations and forms to producers,’ ” the NSAC report said.

FSA county staff cuts are a nationwide problem, but the Midwest was hit particularly hard — losing 361 staff in total, according to the data.

Illinois leads in the absolute number of staff reductions, but several states lost a higher percentage.

Indiana leads the region, losing close to 20% of its county FSA staff. North Dakota comes in second at 16.5%. Illinois is in the middle of the pack with close to 12%.

According to federal workforce data, nearly 20,000 people left the USDA between Jan. 20, 2025 and May 2026. Most departures came after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) pushed thousands of employees to accept deferred resignations and early retirement incentives as part of a broader effort to reduce the size of the federal workforce.

The NSAC called these cuts an “unprecedented staffing crisis” for the department.

The USDA expects to lose more staff soon because of continuing reorganization efforts, according to recent reporting by E&E News. Previously confidential planning documents, made public through a federal lawsuit, show department officials anticipated that “a significant number of employees will decline geographic reassignments.”

“Thousands of USDA employees across the country took buyout offers last year, and unions have warned that most employees who declined buyout offers would also decline offers to relocate,” E&E News reported.

In addition to the FSA staff losses, the Natural Resources Conservation Service lost nearly a quarter of its staff last year, according to data gathered by the NSAC. That includes many soil conservation experts. Illinois wasn’t as deeply impacted by those cuts, losing only 11 staffers between 2025 and 2026.

Data Harvest (formerly Graphic of the Week) is Investigate Midwest’s way of making complex agricultural data easy to understand. Through engaging graphics, charts, and maps, we break down key trends to help readers quickly grasp the forces shaping farming, food systems, and rural communities. Want us to explore other data trends? Let us know here.