National News

USDA VACANCIES SAID TO AFFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE: There are thousands of open positions at the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Farm Service Agency, and the Democratic members of New Mexico's congressional delegation want Perdue to fill them ASAP. The vacancies - 1,446 at NRCS and a like number at FSA - are harming the agencies' ability to provide assistance to farmers and ranchers, the lawmakers said in a letter to Perdue. Carlsbad, N.M., a city in an important agricultural part of the state, hasn't had any NRCS staff for nearly a year, the lawmakers said. Read their letter here. USDA's response: A spokesperson said the department is "already in the process of conducting workload assessments for our customer-facing agencies to ensure that USDA maintains its superior level of customer service."