RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, US — Green Sprig Ag and Deep Roots Milling were recently selected to receive funding from the Virginia Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industry Development (AFID) Fund Infrastructure Grant Program. The program supports strategic investments into missing infrastructure that is impeding small-scale farmers and food producers from expanding their operations.

Deep Roots Milling, which operates Woodson’s Mill, the only water-powered mill still in operation in Virginia, will receive $22,500 to upgrade the mill’s third floor. The expansion in Nelson County, Virginia, US, will include the addition of a new sifting room and the purchase of new bagging equipment. The mill originally was built in the 1790s and has been in continual operation throughout most of its history.

Run by a fifth-generation farmer, Green Sprig Ag produces both feed and food grade grains in Franklin County, Virginia, US. The company is set to receive $10,000 to make facility upgrades to more efficiently process grains entering the food system. Specifically, the company plans to use the funds to renovate an existing building to meet food grade standards for the purpose of cleaning, storing and processing grain for members of the Common Grain Alliance.

“I am pleased to partner with our local governments through the AFID program to make strategic investments into the infrastructure our farmers and food producers need to be successful,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. “It is through innovative partnerships like these, where the private and public sectors come together to identify and address critical needs, that we can keep the Commonwealth moving forward.”