Agriculture

Luis A. Cruz-Arroyo joined the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Caribbean Area as its new director on Oct. 28.

The grant is in the amount of $149,877. This grant will be used to rebuild animal handling facilities at the University of the Virgin Islands Beef Cattle Research Facility.

Wet and muddy pens and pastures put animals at risk for many health problems.

The Rural Energy for America Program helps agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy costs and consumption and helps meet the nation’s critical energy needs.

Local governments and qualified nonprofit organizations, and Indian tribes are eligible to apply for grants to establish community forests through fee simple acquisition of private forest land from a willing seller.

Joel Baxley, acting assistant to the secretary for rural development, recently announced the names of 47 rural communities and regions, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, that will receive technical assistance to help create and implement long-term economic development plans.

The census provides the most widely used statistics in the agriculture industry. It is the leading source of statistics about the USVI's agricultural production and the only source of comprehensive, comparable data at the island level.

Commissioner of Agriculture Positive T.A. Nelson will hold a conference Saturday as the territory prepares for the rollout of medical marijuana. The Medical Cannabis Conference – CannaVal – will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the St. Croix Educational Complex.

This environmental incentives program is a voluntary conservation program that provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to help them install and implement conservation practices on eligible agricultural land.

The Farm-Tienda Project supports the agricultural sector on St. Croix by granting eligible farmers with a durable and movable “farm stand” for the expansion of their local businesses.