Farmer Focus to create 300 jobs with $17.8M expansion

Harrisonburg-based Farmer Focus is planning a $17.8 million expansion that will create 300 jobs and double its processing capacity, the organic poultry producer announced this week. 

Part of that expansion will be paid for with a $3.6 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the grant at a visit to Farmer Focus’ headquarters on Tuesday. 

The expansion will “enable Farmer Focus to welcome more family farmers into its farming family” and create 300 jobs over the next two years, according to a news release. Farmer Focus plans to expand its organic chicken processing facility in Harrisonburg. Operating since 2014, the plant processes 335,000 chickens per week, but demand has grown and the expansion will allow the company to process 630,000 chickens per week.  

The creation of the new jobs will coincide with the completion of the expansion project and will be a mix of production, maintenance and supervisory roles, according to Liz Fuchs, Farmer Focus’ chief people officer. A completion date for the expansion has not been set, and the expansion won’t physically change the size of the facility.

“The programs and money the Biden-Harris administration is committing can make a huge difference in providing opportunities to independent processors like Farmer Focus so we can build a more competitive meat industry and strong generational family farms while providing our consumers with the highest quality organic and humane certified chicken,” Farmer Focus Founding Farmer and CEO Corwin Heatwole said in a statement.

 “Just a little over a year ago, I was invited to a White House Round Table where I had the unique opportunity to share my thoughts directly with President [Joe] Biden and Secretary Vilsack on ways to increase competition within the meat industry,” Heatwole added. “The MPPEP proves that our leaders in Washington are listening closely to the farming community, and are following through on their commitment to improve the lives and livelihood of America’s farmers and the resiliency of our food system.”

The program provides grants to help eligible processors expand their capacity, according to the USDA. 

In a statement, Vilsack said, “The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are taking action to advance a sustainable vision of agriculture that prioritizes the needs of our resilient producers and small businesses, strengthens our food supply chain and brings value back to rural people and places.”

With this second round of MPPEP grants, the USDA doled out $59 million to five U.S. companies, including Farmer Focus, the only Virginia-based grant recipient. Farmer Focus will make improvements to alleviate bottlenecks in processing and offset costs associated with equipment purchases, new conveyor lines, building and site modifications and a new wastewater treatment system, according to the USDA. 

Farmer Focus has recently undergone multiple leadership changes. In December 2022, Farmer Focus tapped Stephen J. Shepard as its new president and chief operating officer, a promotion from his role as executive vice president of operations.

Founded in 2014 and formerly known as Shenandoah Valley Organic, Farmer Focus sells organic poultry raised as free-ranging on humane-certified farms. In February 2022, Farmer Focus opened a 78,000-square-foot packaging facility in Harrisonburg,  increasing production capacity and expanding Farmer Focus’ workforce.

Farmer Focus’ products are now distributed in more than 4,000 stores, including the East Coast and the Midwest, in retail grocery chains such as Publix Super Markets Inc., Harris Teeter and Safeway Inc.