Kelly Turkeys to open new facility in Albemarle County, Va.
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Agriculture generates more than $52 billion per annum.
The Commonwealth is partnering with Albemarle County and Kelly Turkeys USA on this project through the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund.
Founded in the United Kingdom in the 1970s, Kelly Turkeys U.K. is known for its unique breed of turkeys, the KellyBronze turkey. The company has grown steadily in sales and reputation for the past 25 years and has been voted the best turkey in the United Kingdom for eight consecutive years.
Kelly Turkeys USA will bring the same brand and production methods to Virginia, establishing the company’s first United States facility. The new U.S. location for the long-standing and established Kelly Turkeys brand will produce 100% Virginia-grown premium turkeys.
Through this announcement, Kelly Turkeys USA will help to grow the already diverse agricultural economy of Albemarle County. The company’s new facility will utilize working farmlands in Albemarle County to support the Commonwealth’s largest private sector industry, agriculture. This artisanal product will supply the growing market for premium turkeys in the Commonwealth and around the country.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services partnered with Albemarle County to secure this project for Virginia. Governor McAuliffe approved a $29,000 grant from the AFID Fund to assist with the project and Albemarle County will provide a $29,000 cash match.
According to a 2013 economic impact study conducted by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, agriculture and forestry are two of Virginia’s largest private industries with a combined economic impact of $70 billion annually.
Agriculture generates more than $52 billion per annum, while forestry generates more than $17 billion. The industries also provide more than 400,000 jobs in the Commonwealth. ■