OMAHA (DTN) -- Roughly one in seven federal office leases terminated by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) belongs to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, based on a DTN review of those canceled leases.

In its conquest of the federal government, DOGE has forced at least 793 federal offices around the country to look for new leases or shut down altogether. DOGE claims this will result in roughly $500 million in savings from the terminated leases.

On its website, DOGE shows it has ended 111 USDA office contracts across nine agencies, amounting to just under $27.4 million in annual rental payments with total contract "savings" estimated at $59.2 million.

The bulk of these savings comes from 19 of the largest annual leases, all of which were higher than $500,000 in costs.

Most of the largest USDA office contracts canceled by DOGE were in Republican-led states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina and Texas.

California had the most listed office closures with nine, including five NRCS offices, two FSA offices, a Forest Service office and an Agricultural Marketing Service office closure. In total, those contract terminations listed $818,722 in savings.

The single most expensive lease contract terminated was a U.S. Forest Service contract for a facility in Anchorage, Alaska, which alone accounted for $7.8 million in contract savings and an annual rent cost of $1.18 million. Six office closures in Alaska amounted to $11.35 million in savings -- the highest of any state -- mainly due to the Anchorage lease.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office in Temple, Texas, had the highest annual lease canceled at $2.45 million per year and total contract savings of $6.9 million. The NRCS office is housed in the W.R. Poage Federal Building in downtown Temple.

According to DOGE, the NRCS staff took up a whopping 93,641 square feet in the federal building. That's twice the space as the next largest USDA lease canceled by DOGE.

Asked by DTN about the Temple, Texas, lease, the General Services Administration (GSA) responded that there are four USDA offices housed at the Poage building: NRCS, Rural Housing Service, the Office of Inspector General and the Office of General Counsel. NRCS occupies as much as 53,000 square feet of space, which is why it was listed as the primary occupant.

An online search showed USDA has maintained an NRCS office in the Poage building since at least 1996.

The current lease in Temple was set to run through July 2028, but DOGE canceled the contract for Sept. 30, 2025, which is the end of the federal fiscal year.

The GSA's response suggests there could be multiple agencies affected across the 111 USDA offices terminated. A typical local USDA Service Center, for instance, often houses the Farm Service Agency, NRCS and potentially Rural Development or Rural Housing Service staff as well.

According to DOGE listing, the federal government has canceled contracts for 36 NRCS offices and 22 FSA offices. It's unclear how many of those may have been joint leases for multiple agencies.

While DOGE promotes potential federal savings from those lease terminations, its own data shows 19 of the USDA office lease cancellations actually generate "zero" savings, according to the DOGE website. These include the state FSA office in Montgomery, Alabama; a 44,000 square-foot Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) facility in Boise, Idaho; another APHIS facility in Topeka, Kansas; a Rural Housing Service office in Dover, Delaware; and multiple FSA and NRCS offices in California, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota and Puerto Rico.

DOGE also canceled the contracts in Batesville, Arkansas, for three USDA agencies -- FSA, NRCS and Rural Housing Service -- along with the Social Security Administration. The total rent for these offices was a combined $145,470, but DOGE still listed zero savings from closing the Batesville offices.

Earlier this week, DTN asked a spokesperson for U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., about the office closures. Boozman called for greater communication between DOGE and Congress about such moves.

"America's farm families must continue to access the services and benefits they rely on from USDA amid ongoing changes and reviews by the administration," Boozman said. "This is particularly critical as many producers are navigating a downturn in the agricultural economy due to the lingering effects of inflation and low commodity prices, and local USDA offices will play a vital role in getting emergency assistance into the countryside. To date, Congress is not receiving advance notice of office closures, but improved coordination would better serve communities and agricultural producers."

Congress historically has frowned upon USDA office closures, particularly local FSA offices. The 2018 farm bill includes language that USDA must notify Congress before closing any FSA office and provide justification for the closure. Offices in rural and underserved areas are protected to maintain services.

Such provisions were written into law after USDA proposed closing 200 FSA offices nationwide in 2006 under the Bush administration. In 2012, the Obama administration also proposed closing 131 FSA offices due to Congressional spending cuts. Congress then added annual appropriation riders to prevent USDA from closing local offices.

The vast majority of leases were listed on the DOGE website as "termination via mass mod," a General Services Administration process that allows for simultaneous termination of multiple leases. Other contracts stated USDA would close the office.

USDA agencies with the most lease terminations, according to DOGE:

-- NRCS: 36 offices

-- FSA: 22 offices (including five in Puerto Rico)

-- APHIS: 17 offices

-- U.S. Forest Service: 11 offices

-- Rural Housing Service: 10 offices

-- Agricultural Marketing Service: 8 offices.

Ten highest USDA rental office annual rental rates terminated, according to DOGE:

1 -- NRCS, Temple, Texas, 93,641 sf, $2.45 million

2 -- Forest Service, Atlanta, Ga., 49,617 sf, $1.4 million

3 -- Forest Service, Anchorage, Alaska, 27,770 sf, $1.18 million

4 -- APHIS, Boise, Idaho, 44,623 sf, $1.1 million

5 -- NRCS, Columbia, Mo., 52,257 sf, $813,748

6 -- Farm Service Agency, Lexington, Ky., 39,235 sf, $786,167

7 -- NRCS, Greensboro, N.C., 30,123 sf, $731,294

8 -- Forest Service, Phoenix, Ariz., 32,162 sf, $719,682

9 -- Rural Housing Service, Harrisburg, Pa., 34,467 sf, $714,397

10 -- FSA office, Montgomery, Ala., 30,881 sf, $608,234.

DTN requested comment from USDA about the office closures and clarification about the Temple, Texas, office, but did not receive a response.

DOGE website: https://doge.gov/…

Also see, "USDA Contract Freezes Continue to Threaten Local Food Programs and Conservation Efforts," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

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