[1] This merger brought together "responsibility for the collection of farm-level crop and livestock data with that for major domestic and foreign commodity market transactions" in a single agency.

[5][6] In 2018, the office of Trump's Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Perdue, also issued a directive to ERS and other research components of USDA, ordering them to include a disclaimer on peer-reviewed research in scientific journals stating that findings and conclusions were "preliminary" and "should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy.

"[7][8] Susan Offutt, the ERS administrator under the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, said that the requirement was contrary to the USDA's longstanding policy that permitted and encouraged federal scientists to publish work in journals,[7] and the "disclaimer" mandate was strongly criticized by USDA employees, science advocates, and scientific journal editors.

[9] Current and former employees of the ERS were strongly critical of the relocation to Kansas City and other Trump administration policies, and the exodus of scientific and economic talent and disruption to federal research (especially on climate change and food security) that they had caused.

[8] During the Biden administration, ERS headquarters moved back to Washington, DC, while the Kansas City office was retained.

[16] The publication "features information and economic analysis about food, farms, natural resources, and rural community issues" and includes data and charts on various economic indications, including livestock cash receipts, farm household income, agricultural imports and exports, and food spending.

[16] The ERS is led by an administrator, historically a career Senior Executive Service appointee[15] that (along with NASS) reported to the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics.

[17] This restructuring prompted criticism that the ERS's historically independent and autonomous data-collection mission would be compromised by political interference.