USVI Farmers Have Until Sept. 30 to Seek Up to $8,000 in Federal Transportation-Cost Reimbursements

Virgin Islands farmers and livestock producers have until Sept. 30 to apply for a federal program that reimburses a portion of the transportation costs they incur moving agricultural products and production inputs, with payments generally capped at $8,000 per producer for fiscal year 2026. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program, or RTCP, is intended specifically for farmers and ranchers operating in places where geography creates unusually high transportation expenses. Along with the U.S. Virgin Islands, eligible areas include Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and several other U.S.-affiliated insular jurisdictions. For Virgin Islands producers, the program can help offset eligible expenses associated with transporting agricultural commodities as well as inputs used to produce them. That means assistance is not limited to the cost of moving crops or livestock products to market; qualifying ...