KSHB 41 anchor/reporter JuYeon Kim covers agricultural issues. Cole Peterson reached out to KSHB 41 after seeing our coverage of the federal workforce reduction. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out here.
—
Nationwide federal downsizing has trickled down to Manhattan, Kansas.
Of around 2,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture employees who were laid off across the country, dozens were workers at two separate agricultural research and prevention facilities in the Little Apple: the Center for Grain and Animal Health Research and the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).
Cole Peterson, a probationary worker, lost his job unexpectedly. He received an email on Feb. 15 notifying him of his termination; the effective date had already passed.
“It hurt a lot to get laid off, get fired, especially on my birthday,” Peterson said. "It came [as] a shock. I forwarded it to my supervisor, she was in shock, too.”
He was just five months away from being a permanent fixture at the Center for Grain and Animal Health Research.
Peterson served in the U.S. Army and was hired for his USDA job through the Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment (VRA). His probationary period was two years due to the VRA program.
If he had gone through the hiring process as a civilian, it would have only been one year.
“I served this country, and since I served this country, I was let go,” Peterson said.
With a mortgage on a brand new house and twins on the way, the Petersons have no other choice but to keep moving forward. Peterson has already appealed and applied to 20 jobs but has not heard back.
“I’m worried that she’s going to possibly miscarry because of the stress that it’s putting on her,” Peterson said of his wife.
Ryan Flickner, Kansas Farm Bureau’s senior director of advocacy, is encouraging people like Peterson to share their stories. The hope is it will lead to job and local resources for those laid off.
“We’re able to relay those directly to USDA as well as the Kansas congressional delegation,” Flickner said.
On a bigger scale, Flickner is also thinking about the impact of downsizing on local producers — people who rely directly on services provided by these USDA facilities.
“How do we make sure that when producers want to do good conservation work, want to sign up for farm bill programs, to make sure that there is somebody in place?” Flickner said. “Those subject matter experts that have been trained in their field and are doing good work over at NBAF, hopefully those termination letters are rescinded.”
Flickner said NBAF, specifically, is a facility that is not even two years old. Making sure the building is fully staffed is critical.
“We’ve gotta have those workers there now to start rowing that boat, so to speak, in that direction so those permits can be issued in the future,” Flickner said. “Even from a pure administrative aspect, making sure that those people are there and doing the appropriate paperwork, getting the appropriate sign off, checking all the boxes that need to be checked.”
Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Kansas Animal Health Commissioner Dr. Justin Smith weighed in on the importance of retaining local talent.
“The ability to have our talent in our backyard, and the research and the knowledge, is instrumental. And, frankly, can’t be replaced,” Smith said. “From an animal health and animal disease response capabilities, having them here greatly enhances our capabilities of responding quickly, accurately and efficiently.”
Smith said KDA has been reassured by its USDA partners that they recognize the importance of the federal labs located in Manhattan and the mission of the facilities will still be accomplished.
A USDA spokesperson told KSHB 41 in a statement that probationary employees who were laid off were “primarily administrative and not deemed essential to the functions of the lab.”
Peterson, one of those “non-essential” administrative workers, now plans on selling his wife’s car to make ends meet.
“It hurt because PSAs do so much," Peterson said. “I have not been able to receive my separation packet, and that means that I can’t file for unemployment.”
The Peterson family's worst nightmare is having to foreclose on their dream house and being forced out of Manhattan.
“It’s just, it’s not right. It shouldn’t happen this way,” Peterson said.