Overlook Produce and Farm Adventures will invest over $850,000 to build a new produce packing facility and retail market pavilion in Rockingham County, Virginia. The project is expected to create six new jobs.

The new 27-acre site will house a large open-air market pavilion, greenhouses, pick-your-own strawberry and pumpkin patches, and other Virginia-grown favorites. An expanded warehouse and cold storage facility will allow for increased sales to retail and wholesale customers, as well as a major expansion of product offerings to include Chesapeake Bay crabs and oysters, both shucked and in shell. All net new purchases will be 100 percent sourced from Virginia farm families and watermen.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to expand and better serve our community with local produce, said Joe Ulmer, Owner of Overlook Produce and Farm Adventures. “With our expansion we will now be able to offer a larger variety of all your essential local food items.”

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services worked with Rockingham County and the Rockingham County Economic Development Authority to secure this project for the Commonwealth. Governor Northam approved a $15,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund, which Rockingham County will match with local funds.

“Farm markets play a critical role in connecting small- and medium-sized producers to the local customer base that sustains their operations,” said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring. “I am pleased we could partner with Rockingham County through the AFID Fund to support this new venture, and I applaud Overlook Produce for their commitment to sourcing products from Virginia.”

Owner Joe Ulmer and his wife Janice are lifelong Shenandoah Valley farmers and opened Overlook Produce’s farm stand in 2016 after five years of selling their produce through the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction.