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Arlington agriculture nonprofit names first president and CEO
Arlington-based sustainability agriculture nonprofit Leading Harvest announced Friday that it has named Kenny Fahey as its first president and CEO. Fahey, who works remotely from Seattle, has been Leading Harvest’s executive director since its launch 18 months ago. He has enrolled more than 1.3 million acres across 29 states in the organization’s Farmland Management Standard […]
Going cold turkey
To get a turkey on your Thanksgiving table this year, you may have to plan ahead. And even so, ham, pork tenderloin, chicken or even tofurkey might have to fill in as substitutes. Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods, the Richmond-based prepared food business spun off from the former regional grocery store chain, informed its customers Tuesday that […]
Company to build $4.2M facility in Brunswick County
Southern Virginia Vegetable Packing LLC has partnered with Brunswick County Industrial Development Authority, with plans to build a 45,000-square-foot, $4.2 million produce processing and packing facility that is expected to create 40 jobs over three years, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. Old Dominion Organic Farms, a member of Southern Virginia Vegetable Packing, will operate the […[...]
Richmond’s Universal Corp. to acquire Pennsylvania flavoring company
Richmond-based agriculture products supplier Universal Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire specialty ingredient, flavoring and food company Shank’s Extracts Inc., it announced Tuesday. Founded in 1899, Shank’s is a privately-held company specializing in vanilla extract products. The company, which has more than 200 workers, manufactures more than 2,400 extracts, distillates,[...]
Agriculture
CHAD BALLARD III PRESIDENT, BALLARD FISH & OYSTER CO. Inc., CAPE CHARLES Ballard left his job as an investment banking analyst in 2008 to focus on selling Misty Points, Chincoteague Salts and Littlenecks, oysters and clams that have been his family’s livelihood for five generations, going back more than 125 years. Ballard Fish & Oyster […]
Shenandoah Growers taps ex-Starbucks exec as new CEO
Rockingham County-based indoor agriculture company Shenandoah Growers Inc. has appointed former Starbucks Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Ryan as the company’s new CEO. And Mike Buckley, former senior vice president of business for Postmates, has been hired as Shenandoah Growers’ chief financial officer, the company announced Wednesday. Former Shenandoah Growers CEO Tim Heydon, wh[...]
Shenandoah Growers taps new chief science officer
Tessa Pocock has been named Shenandoah Growers Inc.’s new chief science officer effective immediately, coming to the Rockingham County-based indoor agriculture company from San Francisco-based Plenty Unlimited Inc., where she was director of lighting optimization. Pocock, who holds a Ph.D. in environmental stress biology and master’s degrees in plant biochemistry and biology from Weste[...]
Fairfax hydroponic farm expanding, creating 29 jobs in Herndon
Beanstalk, an indoor hydroponic farm in Fairfax County, plans to expand its operation, investing $2 million and creating 29 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday. Owners Mike and Jack Ross, brothers from Alexandria, started the business in 2018 and sell fresh salad mixes and fresh herbs to grocery stores and at farmers’ markets. The new […]
$59.6M hydroponic operation coming to Va. Beach
Agriculture startup Sunny Farms LLC plans to build a $59.6 million, 32-acre hydroponic operation in Virginia Beach — creating 155 jobs and one of the largest greenhouses on the East Coast, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The facility, which will cover 1.2 million square feet when completed in three years, will be located at […]
Rockingham County produce stand expands to 27-acre facility
Mount Crawford-based Overlook Produce and Farm Adventures will invest more than $850,000 to construct a produce packing facility and retail market pavilion on a 27-acre site in Rockingham County, according to an announcement Wednesday from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. Located off Interstate 81’s Exit 240, the facility will replace Overlook Produce’s roadside produce stand and […[...]
Shenandoah Growers picks new COO
Shenandoah Growers Inc. has hired former Walmart executive Cameron Geiger as the company’s chief operating officer, it announced this week. The Rockingham County-based agricultural products company says Geiger will help lead the company’s next phase of growth. Geiger, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1989 — the year Shenandoah […]
Aquaculture proves big catch for region
A Russell County native and a Singapore-based asset management firm are about to turn a corner of Virginia’s coalfields into an aquaculture center. Jake Musick’s Riverbound Trout Farms is building a processing plant in Russell County. Musick expects to begin shipping fish this fall. About a quarter mile away, straddling the Russell-Tazewell county line, Pure […]
