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Virginia 500: The 2024-25 Power List
Who are Virginia’s most powerful and influential leaders in business, government, politics and education this year? Find out in the fifth annual edition of the Virginia 500: The 2024-25 Power List. Read more about how we assembled the Virginia 500 from our editor. Executives are listed in alphabetical order by industry. Below you will find links […]
Smithfield separates from European arm
Smithfield Foods announced Tuesday that its European operations have been carved into an independent subsidiary. The action takes place a little over a month after Smithfield’s Chinese parent company, WH Group, which has its headquarters in Hong Kong, announced plans to take the company public in the United States. Smithfield Europe, now to be called […]
New CFO tapped for Maola Local Dairies
Chad Dubbe started work as the chief financial officer of Herndon-based Maola Local Dairies on Aug. 13, according to an announcement by the company, which is owned by the farmers of Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association. Previously, Dubbe spent 15 years at Leprino Foods, a Colorado manufacturer of mozzarella, lactose and whey protein. […]
Speyside Bourbon Cooperage to create 40 jobs in Pittsylvania
Speyside Bourbon Cooperage will invest $16.85 million to build a new stave mill in Pittsylvania County’s Brosville Industrial Park, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced last week. A U.S. subsidiary of a French company, Speyside Bourbon Cooperage produces staves, or strips of wood, from American White Oak, which are used to make the company’s bourbon barrels. Pittsylvania […]
Homestead Creamery to expand Franklin County facility
Dairy products maker Homestead Creamery will carry out a $2.5 million renovation and expansion of its Franklin County production facility, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The company will build a new ice cream production room and install additional production and refrigeration equipment and freezers. The expansion is in response to growing customer demand for the […]
Tazewell indoor salmon farm adjusts course
The $228 million Pure Salmon facility on 200 acres straddling Tazewell and Russell counties has hit a snag with construction delays and is pushing back its expected timeline. Tazewell County Administrator Eric Young says construction progress has not proceeded as anticipated on the Virginia branch of the United Arab Emirates-based Atlantic salmon farming and processing […]
Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers CEO to retire
Jay Bryant, CEO of Herndon-based Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association (MDVA), is retiring at the end of this year, and Jon Cowell, MDVA’s current chief financial officer, will succeed him, the cooperative announced Friday. Bryant has worked at the MDVA, a cooperative of more than 900 dairy farm families in 10 states, for […]
Va. Tech receives two $1M endowment commitments
The Public Service Education Institute has endowed two $1 million funds at Virginia Tech to support internships, the university announced Tuesday. The endowments, each created with a $1 million commitment, will support students who have secured internships with federal, state or local government agencies, including the Virginia Cooperative Extension. One endowment will support students in [&hellip[...]
Russell County farm to invest $1M in expanded manufacturing
Goat milk products maker Bates Family Farm will invest roughly $1 million to relocate its manufacturing facility to a Russell County-owned building in Lebanon, a project expected to create 12 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. “We’re creating agriculture-based jobs and selling Virginia-made products,” Bates Family Farm co-founder and CEO Joseph “Joe” Bates said. T[...]
October 2023 Virginia 500 Spotlight: NEIL HOUFF
FIRST JOB: Feeding calves on the family farm MOST VALUED POSSESSION: My faith in Jesus. All else will be gone at some point. HOW I UNWIND FROM WORK: Mowing the lawn or mowing pastures on our farm HOW I BALANCE MY WORK AND PERSONAL LIFE: My work and personal life have always been intermingled and […]
German yeast upcycler building plant in Rockingham
Leiber, a German manufacturer that processes brewers’ yeast into animal food, biotechnology and supplements, will invest as much as $20 million to establish its first U.S. operation in Rockingham County’s Innovation Village, adding an estimated 35 jobs. Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the new facility Monday. It will be completed in phases and increase the company’s […]
Growth industry
Prompted by shifts in consumer buying trends, Shenandoah Valley farmers are investing heavily in automated systems and cutting-edge growing processes to position themselves for the long haul in an industry that’s changing rapidly. Once dubbed the “breadbasket of the South” because of its bountiful wheat crops, Virginia’s northwestern region has remained an agricultural powerhouse. [...]
