Federal job recruiters are in cattle country this week and next looking for prospective food safety inspectors in Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) currently employs 7,500 meat and poultry inspectors.

The agency’s challenge is keeping those ranks filled while continuing inspections at all the establishments it regulates, no matter how scattered or remote the location. The areas wher they are recruiting this week and next report unemployment in the “twos” with more jobs than applicants.

According to USA Jobs, a new FSIS food inspector for slaughter would be offered a starting salary of $33,394 to $53,773, which represents a federal government pay scale and grade of GS 05-07. New hires could expect a full-time work schedule and a permanent appointment.

Such entry-level jobs are open to anyone, meaning U.S. citizens, nationals or those who “owe allegiance to the U.S.” FSIS is also currently working to fill “consumer safety inspector” jobs around the country, but those are open only to current FSIS employees or displaced federal employees from other agencies.

A consumer safety position pay scale is GS 09-10, paying $55,720 to $72,437. It is also permanent, full-time, and might even pay relocation expenses.

The FSIS recruitment drive now underway in the three states is important enough that Carmen Rottenberg, acting deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and Paul Kiecker, acting FSIS administrator, have both cut radio actualities to promote it.