AppHarvest starts construction on fourth and fifth indoor farms

ByDoreen Ware
Agriculture, Food & Farming News & Updates

AppHarvest announced the start of construction for two new high-tech indoor farms in Central Appalachia. The company’s new farms, located in Somerset and Morehead, Ky., will grow berries and leafy greens, respectively.

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The high-tech Somerset farm marks the company’s expansion into growing berry crops. The Somerset indoor farm will be 30 acres.

The high-tech Morehead, Ky. farm is the second AppHarvest farm in Rowan County to date. The new Morehead facility will produce leafy greens and will be about 15 acres.

AppHarvest’s newest indoor farms in Morehead and Somerset are preceded by the company’s flagship 2.76-million-square-foot facility growing tomatoes in Morehead; a 15-acre facility in Berea that will grow leafy greens; and a 60-acre facility in Richmond that will grow vine crops.

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“These new facilities place us exactly where we want to be at the forefront of AgTech. With today’s dual announcement, we put ourselves ahead of our development schedule,” said AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb. “Our Somerset and Morehead farms will build on the success of our flagship farm to provide higher quality produce using cutting-edge technology at a large scale.”

AppHarvest’s goal is to operate 12 high-tech indoor farms by the end of 2025, and today’s announcement means five of those now have been put on the map. Construction for both the Somerset and Morehead facility is anticipated to finish by the end of 2022.

“AppHarvest has positioned Kentucky as a leader in the AgriTech industry, created hundreds of good-paying jobs for our people and pushed through and thrived during some of our most difficult times,” said Gov. Beshear. “Even as a pandemic raged, Jonathan Webb and his team built one of the biggest indoor farming operations anywhere using one of the most advanced LED-lighting systems ever created. We know the jobs and investments of the future will flow to those who can meet these challenges, so why not us? AppHarvest is making it happen.” AppHarvest’s newest facilities will provide hundreds of well-paying jobs to Eastern Kentuckians in and around Somerset-Pulaski and Rowan Counties.

Both the Somerset-Pulaski and Rowan County facilities will produce non-GMO fruits and vegetables free of harsh chemical pesticides, to be distributed to top U.S. grocers and restaurants. Because of the company’s strategic location in Appalachia, AppHarvest can reach nearly 70% of the U.S. population in a day’s drive, with up to 80% less diesel fuel compared to existing growers in Mexico and the Southwestern U.S.

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For more information:
AppHarvest
www.appharvest.com  

 

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The plant genome, champion of its own survival, has been the focus of Doreen Ware’s career. Ware has targeted her genetics and computational science skills on plants, especially those that are important for agriculture and that continue to feed the world’s growing human population. Ware uses so-called forward and reverse genetics to dissect specific processes in an effort to understand gene function in plants. In forward genetics, she searches for the genetic basis of phenotypes of specific traits, while in reverse genetics, she tries to figure out what characteristics arise from specific genetic sequences. As for the future, Ware is looking forward to working with the scientists who use the gene-editing tool CRISPR.