VIRGINIA BEACH — A major hydroponic agricultural project that will operate in conjunction with a nonprofit workforce development charity is expected to bring 155 jobs to Virginia Beach and develop one of the biggest greenhouse facilities on the East Coast, according to an announcement by Gov. Ralph Northam.
A new startup called Sunny Farms LLC, founded by businesspeople Jim Arnhold and Wayne Zinn, plans to invest $59.6 million for a hydroponic greenhouse, a workforce development program and research at Taylor Farms near Naval Air Station Oceana. The governor announced the project on Tuesday, April 20.
State and local incentives will help its initial stage, supporting a significant economic development win for the commonwealth, where agriculture is the leading industry. In Virginia Beach, it is the third largest industry. A lot of the farming here is grain crops, produce and livestock production in the rural southern city.
A “state-of-the-art” project would use an advanced hydroponic method to grow produce year-round, initially focusing on a three-acre greenhouse growing lettuce and leafy greens. In time, plans call for it to grow into a 32-acre facility growing leafy greens and other vegetables, according to the company.
It will employ controlled environment agriculture, or CEA, which uses technology and a contained, “environmentally neutral” system using recycled water while producing crops efficiently indoors. In hydroponic systems, crops are grown in nutrient solutions rather than soil.
Zinn said the business will focus on providing lettuce to wholesalers in an industry in which much of the product now comes from west of the Mississippi or South America.
By this time next year, 1,000 heads of lettuce may be harvested per hour, filling a demand for produce that will be high quality and much closer to consumers.
The facility will be able to have 11 harvests per year under carefully controlled conditions, and it will be of higher quality than similar products that are row cropped, he said.
“There’s a large demand for regionally grown, leafy greens,” Zinn said during a phone interview on Wednesday, April 21.
As many as 10,000 heads will leave the facility per day in its early phase, he said.
“That’s a lot of lettuce,” Zinn said.
Additionally, Zinn said the facility ultimately would generate and could surpass the value of the crops currently grown in Virginia Beach, which primarily are grain crops and produce. This past year, the estimated agricultural value of the products in Virginia Beach — a number that includes livestock — was $44.2 million, according to an annual estimate prepared by the Virginia Cooperative Extension in conjunction with the Virginia Beach Agriculture Department.
The project will also involve a nonprofit charity called One Matters, Inc., which will provide workforce development services for underserved communities, according to the announcement. Planned services include job training and “agri-therapy” programs for veterans, and Sunny Farms will have partnerships with Virginia Tech and other schools for “agriculture technology education” and research. Arnhold and Zinn are veterans.
On Tuesday, April 20, the Virginia Beach Development Authority voted unanimously to approve $600,000 in funding for the project, matching some of the state investment. The Northam administration approved $600,000 in incentive funding from the Commonwealth Opportunity Fund and $100,000 from the Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, according to the statement released by the governor’s office.
Virginia Beach Economic Development Director Taylor Adams, addressing the development authority, called it “a tremendous win right out of the gate for the taxpayer and this authority.” And he said the business will work to employ veterans as part of its mission.
“This is a revolutionary industrial agriculture opportunity,” Adams told members of the authority.
Zinn said working with veteran populations is a priority.
“We have a number of under employed veterans and even homeless veterans in Virginia Beach,” he said, adding that the effort can provide employment and training in technological jobs as well as agriculture.
During an interview the day of the announcement, Virginia Beach Agriculture Director David Trimmer said the Sunny Farms project has been discussed since 2018, including with the Virginia Beach Agricultural Advisory Commission. He said finding the right location for it was key to it moving forward.
City-owned land at the Brown Farm area off North Landing Road was among multiple places discussed for the project. The Taylor Farms area, Trimmer added, seems ideal. Zinn said the business is leasing privately-owned land there.
“It’s great for the region,” Trimmer said. “It’s great for the city. And it’s great for agriculture, in general.”
“Securing this impactful new project is a reflection of our commonwealth’s commitment to supporting innovative companies like Sunny Farms that are pushing boundaries in agricultural development,” the governor said in a statement.
During an interview, Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Secretary Bettina Ring said the project ties into a number of goals for the commonwealth. It will use state of the art technology, as well as training the next generation of farmworkers, she said, and it will provide fresh, local produce while working with veterans and underserved populations.
“I think what’s really exciting about the Virginia Beach project is that we really are being seen as a leader on the East Coast on vertical farming,” Ring said during an interview.
Vertical farming would be a part of the research aspect of the project in Virginia Beach, not greenhouse production, Zinn said.
In 2019, AeroFarms, a leading indoor vertical farming company, announced a $42 million investment in Pittsylvania County to build a 150,000-square-foot indoor vertical farm facility.
“We just have to continue to innovate,” Ring added. “I think it’s exciting to extend the growing season in Virginia.”
“Agriculture is integral to the DNA of Virginia Beach, so adding this new hydroponic greenhouse operation is a natural fit that will bring exciting benefits in addition to the food production capabilities,” Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said in the statement released by the governor’s office.
“The research that will be done in collaboration with Virginia Tech and the focus on workforce development opportunities,” Dyer said, “especially for veterans and people with disabilities, are thoughtful and creative ways Sunny Farms is expanding the impact of this investment.”
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