- USDA is shuttering its office in Moss Landing and moving inspectors to a trailer at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Two years ago, the Moss Landing station was the headquarters of a now defunct effort to breed sterile light brown apple moths to frustrate reproduction and halt the spread of the invasive agricultural pest.
From the San Jose Mercury News:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is shuttering its office in Moss Landing and moving inspectors to a trailer at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.
Two years ago, the Moss Landing station was the headquarters of a now defunct effort to breed sterile light brown apple moths to frustrate reproduction and halt the spread of the invasive agricultural pest.
Its closing is part of a nationwide streamlining of the federal agency, announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday.
"The USDA, like families and businesses across the country, cannot continue to operate like we did 50 years ago," Vilsack said in a press release. "We must innovate, modernize and be better stewards of the taxpayers' dollars."
As part of what's dubbed the "Blueprint for Better Service," the USDA will close 259 offices at home and seven abroad, which, along with other efficiencies such as consolidating cell phone plans, are designed to save $150 million annually.
For more, see: USDA closes Moss Landing station: Office was the headquarters for light brown apple moth research
