The agri-tech company AppHarvest has opened its newest indoor growing facility in Berea. Governor Beshear and Congressman Andy Barr were on hand with company officials for the opening.
The 15-acre farm is opening in opening in stages. It will start with five acres and then open more over time. Jonathan Webb is the C-E-O of AppHarvest. During a press conference he says this facility will help reduce health risks like E-Coli.
“A touchless system, our team works on the facility, from the seeding, all the way around through propagation, all the way around through growing, we don’t touch it.”
The Berea facility is producing leafy greens. The farm is designed to grow about 35 million lettuce plants at a time. Webb said the way the climate is turning, this type of farming will become necessary.
“This one is going to scare the open field farmers in Salinas Valley, California. I love California, but when you can’t grow your leafy greens in 20 years, we’ll be here for you. You can get them from us, we’ve been getting them from you, you can get them from us going forward.”
AppHarvest has another facility in Madison County. The Richmond farm is expected to start planting tomatoes in November. The site in Somerset is expected to begin shipping strawberries in a couple of weeks.
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