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V.I. Farmers Affected by Drought May Be Eligible for Financial Assistance Through USDA Program, V.I. Dept. of Agriculture Has Announced

The V.I. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that it successfully maintained its program with the U.S. Drought Monitor which shows the location and intensity of droughts across the country. The local program was conducted in conjunction with UVI's Cooperative Extension Service Environmental Health and Climate Team. According to the release, for the second year in a row, the U.S. Virgin Islands has experienced a drought during the current dry season. This designation qualifies the Virgin Islands for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) through the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA). The program offers payments to eligible livestock producers and grazed forage crop acreage. These payments can help cover up to 60 percent of monthly feed costs, which is calculated by using the normal carrying capacity of the grazing land.  To be eligible for LFP, persons or legal entities must be registered with the USDA FSA; a U.S. citizen, resident alien, partn...