Central Kansas cities apply to be new home of USDA offices

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Monday that cities in 35 states had expressed interest in being the new home of the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Of the 136 expressions of interest, five came from cities in Kansas: Kansas City, Lawrence, Manhattan, Salina and Wichita.

“Why are we interested? Well, jobs and investment are the two biggest reasons why we’re interested in one, or both, of the USDA offices moving here,” said Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Salina Economic Development Organization.

Salina EDO submitted the expression of interest to USDA, and Robinson said he believes Salina meets many of the criteria USDA is looking for.