The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved a $750,000 Rail Industrial Access grant to the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative in Rockingham County to expand its grain unloading station in Linville, Virginia.
The funding, administered by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, is part of an $85 million total capital investment that will increase the amount of grain the facility can move by rail. The expansion will double the cooperative's current railcar usage to approximately 1,000 annually while creating six new jobs.
The project will reduce truck traffic, including on nearby I-81, by an additional estimated 1,700 trips each year. The rail component includes $1.5 million in track construction, served by the Chesapeake & Western Railway, a Virginia shortline railroad connecting to the Norfolk Southern main line.
"By expanding rail access at this facility, we are helping to lower costs and improve access for local poultry growers while keeping hundreds of trucks off our roads," said DRPT Director Mariia Zimmerman. "It is a win for agriculture, a win for the economy, and a win for communities across the Commonwealth."
Grant Martin, vice president of live and feed with the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative, said the funding will allow the cooperative to move more grain by rail and provide stronger, more reliable support to member farms across the Shenandoah Valley.
Founded in 2004 when local farmers united to preserve turkey production, the cooperative has grown to nearly 200 member farms, up from about 130 at its inception. The cooperative opened its grain unloading station in 2008 to support a future feed milling facility.
