VA: Historic Peanut Processor Expands In Suffolk with $25 Million Investment in Shelling Facility

Birdsong Peanuts will invest $25.1 million into its peanut shelling facility in the City of Suffolk. Birdsong’s investment to refurbish and automate its production lines will make its Suffolk facility one of the most modern and efficient of the company’s five shelling plants that stretch from Virginia to Texas, reports the publication Business Facilities.

“Birdsong Peanuts chose to reinvest in Suffolk because our corporate headquarters is here, there is a thriving peanut producer base here, there is good access to domestic and export markets, and also because of the region’s talented workforce,” said Charles Birdsong, President, Birdsong Peanuts. Birdsong has been a key company in Virginia’s peanut industry for more than 100 years.

“When long-term corporate partners like Birdsong Peanuts reinvest in Virginia, it underscores that Virginia is open for business,” said Gov. Youngkin. “Birdsong has positively impacted the region’s economy and Virginia’s agriculture industry for over a century. This market leader facility expansion reinforces Suffolk’s reputation as the ‘peanut capital of the world.’”

The VEDP and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services worked with the City of Suffolk to secure the project for Virginia, reports Business Facilities. Gov. Youngkin approved a performance-based grant of $250,000 from the Virginia Investment Performance Grant, as well as a $250,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund to assist the city with the project.

“The Virginia peanut is perhaps the Commonwealth’s most famous contribution to world cuisine and few families have done more than the Birdsongs in bringing Virginia peanuts to the world,” said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr. “It is always a cause to celebrate when we see companies make major investments into the infrastructure that supports Virginia’s farmers, but this is especially true when that investment is being made by a homegrown, family-owned business in support of one of our most iconic agricultural products. I thank the Birdsong family for their commitment to the Commonwealth and look forward to their next 100 years of growth and success.”