Senate panel gets update from Agriculture, endorses beer, wine and spirits festival

ST. CROIX — Lawmakers on the Senate Economic Development and Agriculture Committee received an operational update from the V.I. Agriculture Department and approved the development of a festival celebrating local libations on Wednesday.

Agriculture Commissioner Louis Petersen Jr. testified that the department struggles with a staff shortage and cash flow issues. “And this reality has curtailed the procurement of goods and services, adversely impacted the delivery of goods and services to the farming community while negatively impacting the responsiveness of vendors on whom we depend,” he said.

Earlier during testimony, Petersen said significant portions of the department’s time and money were spent repairing and replacing equipment at the St. Croix abattoir. The abattoir — which has long been the territory’s only animal processing facility — was shuttered in April after an inspection found corroded pipes that posed a hazard to employees.