Meet the Economic Development Team!

Economic Development Director, Sara Worley

Sara has served the citizens and businesses in Goochland County since beginning her career in 2005 where she worked in the Community Development department. She transitioned into Economic Development in 2018 where she developed a deep passion to grow the economy by facilitating new capital investments and job creation. She established the County's first Business Retention and Expansion program and worked to bring many new businesses to Goochland. Sara has a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts from University of Richmond and is working towards earning a certificate in Economic Development.

Economic Development Coordinator, Chance Robinson

Chance began work in Goochland County in December 2022. Prior to Goochland, Chance was with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) for two years. At IEDC, Chance performed economic development research and provided consulting services to economic development organizations in the Midwest, helping them identify new opportunities and programs to build a stronger local economy. Chance graduated from George Mason with a Master in Public Policy, with a concentration in Regional Economic Development. He will be working with Goochland's existing businesses to facilitate growth and expansion

New Resource for Restaurants

The Virginia Restaurant, Lodging, and Travel Association has launched a new website specifically for restaurants. The Virginia is for Restaurant Lovers' site will serve as a portal with a variety of resources and information, all designed to attract and engage restaurants. The primary audience of the site will be Virginia restaurant owners and employees. The secondary audiences are the end consumer (people eating in restaurants) and people out of state (tourists). The website features the latest news, events, and trends in the restaurant industry, along with a toolkit for restaurant owners with information about suppliers, marketing, healthcare, and more.
Visit https://www.virginiaisforrestaurantlovers.com/ to learn more

Richmond SCORE and Dominion Energy Innovation Center have joined forces to deliver an exclusive five-workshop series targeted at helping Central Virginia agri-enterprises start or scale their food, forestry, or agriculture products and services. In an effort to strengthen the regional economy and help business owners catalyze their growth, the Ag-X workshop series was launched to provide the tools, principles, and connections needed by these businesses to succeed.

Throughout January and February 2023, participants will take a deep dive into their business operations with Glen Sink, former agri-business executive turned SCORE mentor, and numerous other industry executives including Virginia Department of Agriculture officials and commercial bankers.

Each workshop will be hosted in-person at the DEIC’s downtown Ashland coworking facility and is structured around a specific topic that builds incrementally upon the preceding content. The end goal of the entire series is a living business plan that agri-entrepreneurs can use to guide their operations and leverage with lenders, planners, and partners.

Topics to include:
Introduction to Agri-Business Planning Models

Developing Your Business Foundation
Developing Your Own Business Plan
Designing Your Customer Experience
Constructing Your Business Financials

Companies of any size, stage, and sector are encouraged to participate in the Ag-X Business Planning Workshop Series. Content has been specially designed for entrepreneurs bringing to market value-added agricultural products, services, and brands; whether that is a new controlled environment agriculture concept, the most delicious artisanal cheese, or a drone to monitor field conditions. Space is limited and likely to fill up quickly, so grab a spot by registering on SCORE’s website.

$125 registration fee. Free parking onsite for in person attendees

Business Spotlight!
Each month we will spotlight a Goochland business!

Greenswell Growers
Below is an excerpt of an article found in Richmond Magazine.

Just west of Short Pump in Goochland County, an earth-toned building resembling a farmhouse is home to Greenswell Growers, one of the most technologically advanced greenhouses in the mid-Atlantic region. The farming facility blends traditional and controlled agriculture, and it’s expected to produce 750,000 pounds of lettuce a year. “This is the solution, this is the wave of the future,” says company President Carl Gupton, pointing to a warehouse lined with symmetrical rows of red leaf lettuce and arugula as far as the eye can see.

From seedlings to crisp heads of lettuce, Greenswell grows and monitors the produce in mini microclimates. The business uses a Green Automation system from Finland, in addition to 13 white boxes spread throughout the facility that hover above the plants, assessing light levels, temperature, humidity and airflow for more than 12,750 channels inside the greenhouse at any given moment. The boxes report back to a main computer, and if clouds roll in, the lights get brighter; if temperatures inside rise, the system cools down the greenhouse. “It gives the plant the ideal growing environment,” Gupton says. “It’s a very similar environment to what would be best-case scenario in the traditional field.”

Founded in 2021 by Gupton and partners Chuck Metzger, John May and Doug Pick, longtime CEO of hunger-relief nonprofit Feed More, Greenswell is the first controlled-environment agriculture project of its kind in the area.

Read more about the future of farming in The Way of the Future: A focus on sustainability is reshaping how we produce, consume and discard our food. An article found in Richmond Magazine by Eileen Mellon on November 28, 2022.

Looking to Grow in Goochland?

Check out available building and sites in Goochland to grow your business and give us a call to chat!

Preserving our Roots:
Agri-Businesses in Goochland

Women in Agriculture Gathering

Virginia Cooperative Extension will be holding two Women in Agriculture Gathering events this February. This event will equip female farmers, landowners, and agriculture enthusiasts with opportunities to network with peers, hone technical skills, and discuss solutions to the unique challenges they face. This year’s gathering will cover topics such as agribusiness and soil health. Speakers will be female farmers and industry leaders from across the region.

The Northern WAG Gathering will be held on Thursday, February 16, 2023 and Friday, February 17, 2023 at Graves Mountain Lodge. The first day will be a agriculture business intensive day, and the second will be the "normal" WAG with a variety of topics and speakers. Both days will have networking opportunities for participants. You may register for one or both days.

The Central WAG Gathering (Prince Edward County) will only be held on one day, and it will feature a variety of topics and speakers. It is scheduled for Thursday, February 16, 2023 at Willoughby Farm in Green Bay, VA.

Please check out our website for more information on speakers and topics! That website can be found here: https://sites.google.com/view/virginiawomeninagriculture/home. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact one of the following individuals: Sarah Sharpe, seweaver@vt.edu (Northern WAG) or Cynthia Martel, cmartel@vt.edu (Central WAG). Registration for both events will close on February 10.

Upcoming Events & Training

Free Business Assistance with the Small Business Development Center

Are you a small business in Goochland County? Do you need assistance with any of the following?

Operations
Strategic growth
Finances and/or bookkeeping
Marketing and/or branding
Startup assistance
Register today for your FREE & CONFIDENTIAL counseling session with the Capital Region Small Business Development Center (SBDC)! Our counselors are experienced mentors that can assist with all of the above!

Space is limited & appointment is required. Register today!