Workshop July 11 for underserved farmers

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A special workshop for Hawaii’s “underserved farmers and landowners” is slated for 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, July 11, at the USDA Pacific Basin Agriculture Research Center at 64 Nowelo St. in Hilo. It will include site visits in the afternoon.

A special workshop for Hawaii’s “underserved farmers and landowners” is slated for 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, July 11, at the USDA Pacific Basin Agriculture Research Center at 64 Nowelo St. in Hilo. It will include site visits in the afternoon.

The event will be hosted by the National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils (NARC&DC) and the Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Councils, with participation of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Services Agency (FSA) and Rural Development (RD) personnel.

The agencies are conducting a series of workshops that focus on underserved farmers and landowners in Hawaii. These groups include, but are not limited to, Asian, Pacific Islander and women landowners and producers who have traditionally lacked access to government assistance available to farmers and ranchers elsewhere because of their race, gender, ethnicity or relative lack of language proficiency.

The purpose of this workshop is to increase the USDA, Natural Resource Conservation Service’s outreach to historically underserved farmers and landowners in Hawaii and ensure underserved farmers and landowners have access to and understand the conservation benefits derived from participation in NRCS Conservation Easement, Stewardship, Environmental Quality Incentives (EQIP) and Agricultural Water Enhancement (AWE) programs provided through the 2008 Farm Bill.

Register by July 1.

For more information, call Big Island RC&D Council at 935-8426 or email brcd@hawaii.rr.com. A limited travel stipend is available.