Meat processing facility awarded $40K in Madison County

A family-owned meat processing facility in Madison County was awarded a $40,000 grant to aid in expansion of year-round operations, creating at least seven new jobs for the region.

Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday, that Hidden Pines Meat Processing, LLC, was awarded a grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) fund — Youngkin’s first AFID award during his administration. The $500,000 in new capital investment will enable the company to process over 1,100 locally raised beef cattle, hogs, lambs and goats each year, according to Youngkin’s office.

“By partnering with forward-thinking counties like Madison, which understands the value of investing in their agricultural economy, to support the growth of a family-owned, farm-based business like Hidden Pines, we are bringing real benefit to Virginia’s hardworking farming community,” Youngkin said.

Hidden Pines, one of the largest game processors in the Commonwealth, has been operating out of Madison County for more than 20 years and serves as a major donor to Hunters for the Hungry, a non-profit organization where hunters donate supplies and food to people in need.

“We feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity to provide quality meat processing services to the region and are hopeful that our ability to provide employment opportunities to our community, will have a positive impact,” said Hidden Pines Meat Processing owners Shawn and Ali Woodfolk. “We would especially like to thank Madison County, the Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Administration for their support in launching this project with us.”

As a largely rural county, Madison relies heavily on the agriculture and food processing business. Thanks to the AFID grant, the family-owned business plans to use its funds to transfer from a seasonal operation to year-round production.