BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff is among a group of legislators pushing to keep nine field offices for the United States Department of Agriculture open across California, including two that are on a list of office lease terminations in Bakersfield and Madera.
The newly established “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, office in the White House plans to terminate leases, grants and contracts across the federal government as part of its stated effort to cut down on spending.
The total savings promised by the DOGE team has been altered from its initial goal of $2 trillion. Instead, in recent weeks, DOGE has promised roughly $150 billion in savings through cuts.
Actions by DOGE have also led to a flurry of lawsuits from federal workers and other groups who are challenging its authority. But the cuts are continuing.
As of Wednesday, the DOGE office is targeting roughly 560 lease terminations for different federal offices across the country. Among those listed are the Farm Service Agency offices in Bakersfield and Madera. An Internal Revenue Service office in Visalia is also among those slated for closure.
California leads the nation in agricultural output, grossing $60 billion in sales last year. And farmers say the closure of local offices like the Farm Service Agency could hurt access to resources such as loans, crop insurance and disaster relief payments. Staff working those offices would likely face layoffs or be relocated.
Other USDA offices slated for closure span the entirety of the state, from Blythe to Mt. Shasta.
“Closure of these offices would severely hamper USDA’s ability to support farmers imperative to California’s agricultural success,” Schiff wrote in a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins last week.
Several Democratic House members also signed the letter, including Reps. Jim Costa of Fresno, and Adam Gray of Merced. They singled out the Kern County branch in their letter.
Kern County currently holds the crown for agricultural production nationwide, with farms here raking in more than $8 billion annually.
Growers in the county say if their Farm Service Agency office is forced to close, it would force them to drive at least two hours to offices in Visalia or Lancaster to access USDA programs.
“We are the No. 1 ag producer in the nation. And so it’s very important for us to have these local resources for our agricultural community that already faces a lot of challenges,” Kern County Farm Bureau CEO Rachel Nettleton told KVPR in a previous interview.
She noted that the Bakersfield office disbursed millions in aid to farmers impacted by major floods in 2023.
DOGE’s plans to terminate leases would save the government a total of $262 million, according to its own estimates. The lease terminations for the Bakersfield and Madera USDA offices together would amount to nearly half a million dollars.
Nettleton said she is working with lawmakers from across the aisle to keep the office open, either by extending its current lease or by finding a new home for the office in Kern County. The building’s lease is scheduled to end in August.
Meanwhile, Republican Rep. David Valadao told TV station KERO he is also offering support.
“I’ve been in regular contact with the [Trump] administration on the importance of maintaining a local FSA office for our farmers, and will continue to reaffirm how vital this agency is to Bakersfield and the entire Central Valley,” he said.
Democratic lawmakers argued the office closures could affect rural economies as tariffs spark uncertainty for Valley farmers, who export much of their crop to countries like China. They also expressed concern for USDA employees.
“For those who staff these offices, closures would mean uprooting their lives. It would also put additional stress on the remaining USDA workforce that is already experiencing significant losses due to terminations and early retirement,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
