ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, Va. — Three generations of Smithfield’s Darden family have been smoking hams since 1952, but they will have a leg up soon with a new investment from Isle of Wight County and the state of Virginia.

Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr was on hand at an event Monday afternoon to announce the $100,000 grant. Half of the money will come from the state through the Agriculture and Forestry Industry Development grant program, with the other half from the county.

The family plans to use the money to build a 7,200-square-foot facility on one of its cow pastures for the purposes of curing and smoking hams. The new facility will offer more than five times the company’s current production capacity, as well as a warehouse, processing area, and a show kitch

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