A pair of promising Kentucky-based agritech businesses received visits Feb. 9 from Gov. Andy Beshear, who lauded the companies for helping grow the innovative industry while creating quality jobs for Kentuckians.
Gov. Beshear toured facilities of AppHarvest in Morehead and Kentucky Fresh Harvest in Stanford, both of which feature high-tech, large-scale greenhouse farming operations focused on growing sustainable produce.
At AppHarvest’s flagship indoor farm in Morehead, the Governor spoke about the company’s success as it transforms Kentucky’s economy while creating good-paying jobs and providing fresh, sustainable produce to the Eastern United States.
“From Silicon Valley to Wall Street, experts with an eye on the future are watching AppHarvest as it redefines how we feed a growing world along with how that world views Kentucky’s Appalachian region,” the Governor said. “This innovative company is forging a path toward a future of well-paying jobs in the growing agritech industry. This is especially good news for Eastern Kentucky as we work to break free from the pandemic and embrace our place as leaders in the post-COVID economy.”
The Governor noted he wanted to visit previously but had delayed the trip several times to reduce travel during the pandemic.
“This visit is a long time in coming. We wanted to be here in late October, when this amazing facility became operational,” he said. “We wanted to come out when AppHarvest broke ground on two more facilities, both in Madison County. We wanted to be here just a few weeks ago when the first AppHarvest tomatoes were harvested, boxed up and sent out to groceries.”
Gov. Beshear also noted the company’s successful debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Feb. 1, with AppHarvest Founder and CEO Jonathan Webb and other company leaders ringing the exchange’s opening bell.
During the visit, Webb also announced an expansion of its educational high-tech container farm program, which places the units at Eastern Kentucky high schools.
“We knew long before opening our Morehead farm that we wanted to invest in the region to help grow our growers and build on the many outstanding community and education programs focused on building a more resilient Appalachian economy,” AppHarvest’s Webb said. “That’s core to our belief that we’ll build America’s AgTech capital right here and why we launched the container farm program at Shelby Valley High School years before we even opened our flagship Morehead farm. The technology in each unit is a good example of what our employees use every day on a larger scale.”
Later that day, Gov. Beshear traveled to Lincoln County, home to Kentucky Fresh Harvest’s (KFH) high-tech vegetable greenhouse.
“The rich promise of agritech in Kentucky is on full display at Kentucky Fresh Harvest,” said Gov. Beshear. “Their scientific approach to growing vegetables in high-tech greenhouses shows us that some of the obstacles to the large-scale growing of food in some regions of Kentucky are no longer relevant. Emerging industries like agritech will feature prominently in Kentucky's future job growth as long as we are bold enough to seize the opportunities when they arise.”
A ribbon-cutting ceremony last October marked the official opening of the Stanford greenhouse as well as the successful completion of Fresh Harvest’s pilot crop late in the year. The KFH team has been working through the winter as they prepare for the next steps in a plan to bring the future of farming to Kentucky.
“It was great to celebrate with everyone last year at the ribbon-cutting,” said Shubin K. Saha, D.P.M., Ph.D, a doctor of plant medicine and former University of Kentucky professor currently serving as chief operating officer at KFH. “It was the moment I think we all needed, given the year we had just endured. But, if I’m being honest, the best moment for me was the next morning –; everyone at the farm was ready to get back to work.”
Dr. Saha, who represents Kentucky businesses related to agriculture and agricultural technology on Gov. Beshear’s Agritech Advisory Council, said the visit from the Governor and Senior Advisor Rocky Adkins was a welcome opportunity to discuss the direction of not just the farm in Stanford, but the industry as a whole.
“The science-based leadership coming from the Governor and his team on the COVID response has been a lifeline for everyone down here, including myself,” Dr. Saha said. “It’s that kind of leadership that gives me confidence the agritech initiative will continue to move forward in the same way.”
After their first crop, KFH made the strategic decision to spend several months fine-tuning irrigation and pest management programs, reviewing growth habit data on their unique tomato varieties and making upgrades to critical environmental control systems. As they prepare for the seeding of their second crop of smaller cherry and grape tomatoes later this month, KFH is poised to move into their full-scale production phase in 2021.
Read more about these promising development and Gov. Beshear’s vision of making Kentucky the agritech capital in the world: AppHarvest news release | Kentucky Fresh Harvest news release | AgriTech.ky.gov
