Northern Kentucky's 80 Acres Farm will shutter operations beginning this month, laying off more than 100 employees.
The Ohio-based vertical farming operation, which launched in 2015, focused on sustainable growth and extending freshness.
The company filed a Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification on Aug. 3 stating it's "permanently winding down its business” due to unforeseen circumstances, including a recent bid to purchase the company falling through. The WARN notice states layoffs at its location in Boone County will occur from Aug. 3 through 17.
A statement from 80 Acres Farms Chief Executive Officer Mike Zelkind said the layoffs follow “exhaustive efforts” to find a way to continue the business.
“For a decade, our team has proven that vertical farming can work at scale — building and operating indoor farms that ultimately supplied more than 18,000 retail locations across the U.S.,” Zelkind said. “We’re proud of our work, the problems we solved, and the fresh, clean produce that fed so many people.”
The WARN notice states that up until it was issued, 80 Acres Farms was in negotiations to be purchased and maintain its employees. The potential purchaser pulled out of negotiations Aug. 2, according to the notice.
There is no information available on what companies were involved in the negotiations. After a merger with Soli Organics in 2025, the company was projecting $200 million in revenue.
Employment in agriculture and related industries is down since the 1950s, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since the 1990s, however, the decline has stabilized and there’s been an increase in wages and employment.
This is not the first indoor farming operation in Kentucky to collapse in recent years. AppHarvest, a high-tech indoor farming company, set up operations in Eastern Kentucky in 2021. By the end of 2023, the company had collapsed and was purchased by a distribution partner.
