USDA Department Reorganization Plan Will Impact Composting!

On August 1, the US Department of Agriculture announced the opening of the comment period for stakeholders to provide feedback on the Department’s Reorganization Plan. They have subsequently extended the comment period to September 30, 2025. The Secretary’s memorandum issued on July 24, 2025, provided the Department’s reorganization plan.
 
Why is this important to composting and the agriculture industries?
 
The USDA’s proposed reorganization plan includes the closure of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Maryland, which will greatly impact federal compost research. The BARC and its Program has been home to the Giants of Composting Research who have long worked to Make America's Soil Healthy Again! Rufus Chaney, Frank Gouin, Pat Millner, and the scientists following in their footsteps have contributed to groundbreaking research into compost use, science, and biology. Decades of research has set the compost industry on a path of expansion through discovering ways to increase soil health, which contributes to better nutrition, better soil organic matter, and more prosperous farmers on America's agricultural land.

        

Frank Gouin       Rufus Chaney          Pat Millner

We need to let USDA's new leadership know about the legacy of research that has brought compost to farms across the land—before it is too late. As the USDA’s flagship research facility, Maryland's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center is slated not only for relocation but for downsizing of compost research, a legacy that must live on. In the 1970s, research at BARC provided the scientific basis for recycling organic “waste” materials into beneficial compost, becoming famous as the Beltsville Aerated (Static) Pile Composting Method. The Beltsville facility has had its own compost research facility there for nearly 30 years. Closing BARC and moving the compost scientists from BARC to other regions of the country would end this legacy of compost knowledge.

The current public comment period for this reorganization plan is open through Tuesday, September 30th. We need your support to let Secretary Rollins know that we need the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and its scientific research staff to remain open and committed to the great research on compost that has historically been done there. Please write and ask USDA to fulfill the Administration's mission to Make America Healthy Again by investing in continued compost research. 

The USCC has also established a Compost Action Center campaign and extended access to it through September 30, 2025, for you to add your voice to the support of BARC. We need all of our USCC Members to review the USDA Reorganization Plan and either send comments directly to Secretary Rollins at reorganization@usda.gov or use our Compost Action Center campaign to submit a comment with only a few clicks! 

The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center is important to Make America's Soil Healthy Again!