Eligible applicants are agricultural agencies or departments in Alaska, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the United States Virgin Islands. A State department of agriculture is the agency, commission, or department of the government responsible for agriculture within the State, Territory, or Insular area.