USDA to open office in North County
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
October 14, 2010
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to open a centralized data collection and processing center in Overland as part of its efforts to consolidate operations and better serve the statistical needs of agriculture and rural America. The new center is expected to create approximately 100 full-time and 300 part-time jobs.
"USDA's investment in statistical research is key in helping us understand emerging trends in agriculture and the farm sector, and in providing more efficient service to America's farmers, ranchers and rural communities," said Vilsack. "This new, centrally located facility will help standardize and streamline the survey operations conducted by USDA around the country and ensure we collect the best and most useful agricultural data."
"This is very welcoming news," said St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. "This new facility brings a boost to our economy, helps lessen job losses and move us to recovery." Along with leading science and business entities like Monsanto, the Danforth Plant Science Center, BRDG Park, and our new Helix Center, this new USDA center helps solidify our leadership in this vitally important sector of the economy," added Dooley.
The new NASS National Operations Center is scheduled to open in late 2011. It will be located at the Charles F. Prevedel Federal Building, 9700 Page Boulevard, the former U.S. Army federal records center. U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is currently working on converting the center to a new resource-efficient, environmentally sound facility, seeking LEED silver certification. GSA plans to invest $35 million into improvements over the next five years.
While this center will centralize and consolidate many of its critical operations, NASS' 46 field offices will maintain viable operations, continuing to work with state governments, industry and other partners to serve the data needs of agriculture and rural America.
