Two area agricultural companies have received funding from the Commonwealth of Virginia to assist with new purchases to grow their business.
Last week, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the latest round of Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development grants which are used to purchase equipment or otherwise invest in their operations.
“This round of funding includes producers in meat processing, dairy processing, canning, honey production, and farmer’s markets,” reads a press release sent out Friday.
The source is the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Century Farm Market of Louisa County will get $17,650 to improve freezer and refrigerator capacity. They raise their own beef and sell products for other local farms in the area.
The Siller Pollinator Company in Albemarle County and Fluvanna County will receive $26,000 to create a mobile honey processing facility for area beekeepers who want to develop products such as wax, infused honey, and creamed honey.
Could the above project refer to “Project Bee Friend” that the Albemarle County Economic Development Authority went into closed session for on February 15, 2022? (read the resolution)
AFID grants usually require a match or involvement with a locality. For instance, Potter’s Craft Cider received an AFID grant in 2019 that helped lead to the development as Neve Hall as their tasting room and production facility.
Elsewhere in the Fifth District, Prince Edward Cannery and Virginia Food Works will upgrade processing equipment in their shared facility using a $28,000 grant.
Across the mountains in the Shenandoah Valley, the City of Buena Vista and the Advancement Foundation secured $50,000 for the Virginia Innovation Accelerator Commercial Kitchen to “serve as a business incubator focused on agricultural innovation.”
In December 2022, Governor Youngkin awarded $50,000 to the New Hill Development Corporation toward their commercial kitchen that’s part of the Black Entrepreneurial Advancement and Community Opportunity Network (BEACON). Council also contributed $500,000 to the project in the spring of 2023.
Do you have an idea for a project you would like to see funded?
“The next semi-annual infrastructure grant round will be open for applications on October 1 through November 15, 2024, while planning grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis,” reads the press release.
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