About 38% of Rural Development Administration research equipment is past its service life

The Rural Development Administration has 1,682 research devices, and 643 are older than their expected service life.

Being past that age does not automatically mean a device cannot be used.

But 35 devices had no recorded use from last year through August, and 19 had gone unused for three years.

Regular checks could help the agency use, move or dispose of equipment more effectively.