The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has dismissed around 70 foreign contract researchers following a national security review aimed at protecting the country’s food supply from foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
“USDA has completed a thorough review of individuals authorised to work on contracts with the department and identified approximately 70 individuals from countries of concern,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement. “The individuals working on these contracts from countries of concern will no longer be able to work on USDA projects.”
The dismissals are part of a wider farm security initiative announced by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on 8 July. The plan includes efforts to block nationals from the four countries from purchasing American farmland and mandates the termination of any existing research agreements involving them.
Rollins defended the measures as essential to safeguarding the integrity of the U.S. agricultural sector. “These moves are necessary to secure the U.S. food supply,” she said.
The terminated researchers had been working with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the USDA’s internal scientific arm, which focuses on critical areas such as food safety, pests, and climate change. Most of those let go were Chinese post-doctoral researchers on two-year contracts, according to Thomas Henderson, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1657, which represents ARS staff in Albany, California.
“Many of these researchers were already vetted before they were hired,” Henderson said. “Some arrived for work on 9 July only to find that their badges no longer functioned.”
Henderson warned that the dismissals would severely impact the agency’s scientific capacity. “Because of a federal hiring freeze extended through 15 October, the USDA cannot replace the terminated staff and will have to halt ongoing research that directly benefits farmers, including a project to develop a vaccine for a deadly toxin found in undercooked beef,” he said.
“We don’t have the talent now to progress on these research projects. It’s setting us back by years, if not decades,” he added.
The USDA declined to comment on concerns regarding the loss of research capacity.
The ARS has already seen significant staff reductions in recent years. More than 1,200 employees—over 17 percent of its 2024 workforce—have left the agency due to terminations and voluntary departure incentives introduced under former President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a memo dated 8 July, Secretary Rollins further instructed that USDA staff may no longer publish research with foreign nationals from the designated “countries of concern” without agency approval. They are also barred from attending events organised by what the USDA describes as “foreign adversaries”.
Ethan Roberts, president of AFGE Local 3247 and an ARS employee, said staff were informed that all pending publications will be re-reviewed, and any co-authored with nationals from the four countries will be denied publication.
“There were already additional layers of review in place for research involving individuals from these countries,” Roberts said. “Now it seems the agency is moving toward outright bans.”
Boluwatife Enome
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