DOGE cutbacks may have hit Meat Animal Research Center

CLAY CENTER, Neb. (KSNB) - The Trump administration’s effort to reduce the federal workforce appears to have impacted the USDA’s Meat Animal Research Center near Clay Center.

The MARC website last week listed all the federal employees who worked there. But when checked Monday, that section had been removed and a note on the website indicated that it had been modified on Sunday, Feb. 16.

In a letter written to faculty and staff Monday, University of Nebraska president Jeffrey Gold said the Department of Governmental Efficiency was moving to reduce the federal workforce. Gold wrote that termination letters were sent to USDA employees last week. He also said the workforce reductions would likely impact the MARC.

Local4 attempted to contact the Center’s director Mark Boggess Monday, but as of late Monday afternoon had not heard back from him. That may have been due in part to the President’s Day federal holiday.

A spokesperson in U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts office told Local4 he was checking on the matter.

Local4 also contacted the press representatives for Third District Congressman Adrian Smith and U.S. Senator Deb Fischer, but had not heard back from them as of late Monday afternoon, again possibly due to the federal holiday.

A spokesperson for the Nebraska Farm Bureau said they were looking into the matter, but had no comment beyond that.

The MARC is located on 35,000 acres of land which was formerly used by the U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot southeast of Hastings.

The USDA’s website said MARC was established in 1964 “to solve high priority problems for the beef, sheep, and swine industries. MARC is recognized around the world for the comprehensive research and industry solutions produced over the last six decades and that legacy continues to this day.”