Massive sustainable eco-farm harvests first crop
This is a massive indoor eco-farm, and it has just harvested its first crop.
These beefsteak tomatoes are chemical pesticide-free, non-GMO and grown with 100% rainwater.
The 60-acre facility in Morehead, Kentucky is among the largest climate-controlled indoor farms in the U.S.
Behind it is ag-tech startup AppHarvest and CEO Jonathan Webb.
"It’s a totally different way of looking at agriculture. There’s a lot of different reasons that what makes AppHarvest unique, our technology, the way in which we handle water, the way in which we get chemicals out of our growing practice. We’re degrading our soils to a point that we’re not going to have a choice so we plan on, when all is said and done, growing just about all fruit and vegetables in a controlled environment here at AppHarvest but the big picture thesis is that’s where agriculture as a whole is moving.”
The indoor farm is designed to use 90% less water with yields up to 30 times higher than traditional open-field agriculture on the same amount of land.
AppHarvest has two more farms currently under construction and plans to open 12 by 2025. They’re also preparing to list publicly.
Its board includes TV personality Martha Stewart.
“Organic food nowadays is so expensive. I just went to the grocery store on Saturday here in my neighbourhood and my bill was $98 for a very small cart of organic vegetables, very small. I just was testing what was going on. And I hope that we are able under these amazing conditions in these beautifully built and constructed greenhouses to grow some of the best food we have ever had here in America.”
