Agriculture

"The increased salaries for these and other positions will greatly assist the agency in meeting its staffing goals and improving the quality of life for the affected employees.”

The goal of the 2021 Territorial Agricultural Plan is to increase agricultural productivity in an effort to make food security and sovereignty not just labels and catch phrases but a true reflection of the reality of the lives of people.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program is a voluntary conservation program that provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to help install and implement conservation practices on eligible agricultural land.

The training will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 24, Friday. They will be free and will take place on both campuses.

The Racial Justice and Equity Conservation Cooperative Agreements are available to entities and individuals for two-year projects that expand the delivery of conservation assistance to beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers.

The program helps build resilient local food systems and strengthen food security through direct financial support to farmers, fishers and small food-related businesses.

St. Croix filmmaker Ramon Richardson recently released a documentary about the importance of agriculture on his home island.

Chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research Stacey Plaskett delivered the following statement at Monday's hearing titled “Supply Chain Recovery and Resiliency: Small Producers and Local Agricultural Markets.”

Do not confine or tie animals during the storm because they can get trapped, injured or killed in the event of building collapse or flooding.

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster.

Drought conditions limit people’s ability to refill cisterns and ponds, and, although convenient, buying water is often an expensive proposition for families and farmers.

This designation qualifies the territory for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) through the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), which offers payments to eligible livestock producers and grazed forage crop acreage.

It is critical that the taskforce receive input from the public, especially those engaged in the agriculture industry.

The bill expands participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Grant Program to preschools, after-school programs and summer food service sites, and increases annual mandatory funding.

Students in grades 7 – 12 are eligible to apply by visiting the University of the Virgin Islands website. There are no registration fees.

Commissioner Positive T. A. Nelson is encouraging livestock farmers to take swift action to ensure that food and water are available for their animals during dry weather.

The survey is a periodic survey conducted throughout the U.S. that aims to understand how many private forest landowners there are and why they own forested or wooded land.

Food Producer Network grants are used to fund extraordinary capital investments, such as in tractors, ice machines, walk-in freezers, irrigation systems, engines and other similar equipment or infrastructure.

Restored wetlands help improve water quality downstream, enhance wildlife habitat, reduce impacts from flooding and provide recreational benefits.

In FY 2020, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) continued working in partnership with farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in the Caribbean Area (PR and USVI) despite hardships from earthquakes to COVID-19 to tropical storms.