AppHarvest

Last updated
AppHarvest, Inc.
Company type Public
Industry Farming, vertical farming, hydroponic farming
Founded2017;7 years ago (2017)
Headquarters Morehead, Kentucky
Key people
Jonathan Webb (CEO)
Website appharvest.com   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

AppHarvest, Inc. is an American food production company developing and operating indoor farms in Appalachia. The company operates a 60-acre tomato farm in Morehead, Kentucky, [1] [2] with plans to operate an additional 3 farms across Kentucky. [3] [4]

Contents

Founded by Jonathan Webb, the company aims to use Kentucky's central geographic location to reduce carbon emissions, delivering produce to Midwest and East Coast markets. [1] AppHarvest's greenhouses aim to primarily use sunlight in lieu of LEDs for growing plants hydroponically. [5]

AppHarvest attracted notable figures to its board, including Martha Stewart, activist investor Jeffrey Ubben, former Impossible Foods CFO David Lee, and JD Vance, the venture capitalist and author of Hillbilly Elegy, who later became a United States senator from Ohio, and in 2024, Vice President Elect.

The company became publicly listed via a merger with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Novus Capital Corp in 2020. [6] Since that time, the company's stock has lost more than ninety-five percent of its value[ citation needed ], prompting increased criticism of the company's management and operations.[ by whom? ] On July 24, 2023, AppHarvest filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [7] As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, AppHarvest's greenhouses were sold off. Its Morehead and Richmond facilities were sold to Equilibrium Capital, a long-time investor in the company, while its Somerset facility was sold to Bosch Growers and its Berea facility was sold to Mastronardi. [8]

Locations

AppHarvest, Inc. was covered in a Grist investigative report and was found to host an unsafe work environment where workers faced extreme heat inside the greenhouses, with temperatures sometimes reaching 155 degrees Fahrenheit, causing health issues. [10] Contract workers outnumbered local employees and had fewer benefits, contrary to the company's original pledge to help the local economy. Multiple safety complaints were filed about the heat, mold, and broken equipment in the workplace, but workers said issues were not adequately addressed.

As of November 2022, five federal lawsuits have been filed against AppHarvest by its shareholders due to dissatisfaction with the significant decline in the company's stock price and allegations of fraud. [11] Shareholders claim that AppHarvest's executives misrepresented the company's preparedness for its launch to investors and regulators, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, the lawsuits allege that while these misleading actions took place, top executives were awarded substantial compensation in the form of millions of dollars.

In an August 2024 investigation [12] CNN states that "Despite promising local jobs, the company eventually began contracting migrant workers from Mexico, Guatemala and other countries." The report quotes Shelby Hester, an AppHarvest crop care specialist, saying "They brought Mitch McConnell into the greenhouse, and they sent every single Hispanic worker home before he got there. He then proceeded to have a speech about how we were taking the jobs from the Mexicans."

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosch (company)</span> German engineering and technology company

Robert Bosch GmbH, commonly known as Bosch, is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 1886. Bosch is 94% owned by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, a charitable institution. Although the charity is funded by owning the vast majority of shares, it has no voting rights and is involved in health and social causes unrelated to Bosch's business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachia</span> Geographic region in the Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States

Appalachia is a geographic region located in the central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. Its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountains of New York into Pennsylvania, continuing on through the Blue Ridge Mountains and Great Smoky Mountains into northern Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, with West Virginia being the only state in which the entire state is within the boundaries of Appalachia. In 2021, the region was home to an estimated 26.3 million people, of whom roughly 80% were White.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyson Foods</span> American food company

Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after JBS S.A. It is the largest meat company in America. It annually exports the largest percentage of beef out of the United States. Together with its subsidiaries, it operates major food brands, including Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Wright Brand, Aidells, and State Fair. Tyson Foods ranked No. 79 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 1949, the press was established as a separate academic agency under the university president, and the following year Bruce F. Denbo, then of Louisiana State University Press, was appointed as the first full-time professional director. Denbo served as director of UPK until his retirement in 1978, building a small but distinguished list of scholarly books with emphasis on American history and literary criticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanised agriculture</span> Agriculture using powered machinery

Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, powered machinery has replaced many farm task formerly carried out by manual labour or by working animals such as oxen, horses and mules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Calacanis</span> American businessman

Jason McCabe Calacanis is an American Internet entrepreneur, angel investor, author and podcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vertical farming</span> Practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers

Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically and horizontally stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. Some common choices of structures to house vertical farming systems include buildings, shipping containers, underground tunnels, and abandoned mine shafts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky's 5th congressional district</span> U.S. House district for Kentucky

Kentucky's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located in the heart of Appalachia in Southeastern Kentucky, it represents much of the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield. The rural district is the second most impoverished district in the nation and, as of the 2010 U.S. census, has the highest percentage of White Americans in the nation. It contains the counties of Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Clay, Elliot, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Wayne, Whitley, Wolfe, and parts of Bath, and Carter counties. Within the district are the economic leading cities of Ashland, Pikeville, Prestonsburg, Middlesboro, Hazard, Jackson, Morehead, London, and Somerset. It is the most rural district in the United States, with 76.49% of its population in rural areas. It has been represented by Republican Hal Rogers since 1981.

Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) -- which includes indoor agriculture (IA) and vertical farming—is a technology-based approach toward food production. The aim of CEA is to provide protection from the outdoor elements and maintain optimal growing conditions throughout the development of the crop. Production takes place within an enclosed growing structure such as a greenhouse or plant factory.

An agricultural robot is a robot deployed for agricultural purposes. The main area of application of robots in agriculture today is at the harvesting stage. Emerging applications of robots or drones in agriculture include weed control, cloud seeding, planting seeds, harvesting, environmental monitoring and soil analysis. According to Verified Market Research, the agricultural robots market is expected to reach $11.58 billion by 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Driscoll's</span> American fruit producer

Driscoll's, Inc. is a California-based seller of fresh strawberries and other berries. It is a fourth-generation family business that has been in the Reiter and Driscoll families since the late 1800s. In 2017, it controlled roughly one-third of the $6 billion U.S. berry market, and is the world's largest berry company as of 2024. Headquartered in Watsonville, California, Driscoll's develops proprietary breeds of berries and then licenses them exclusively through approved growers.

Backyard Farms is a Madison, Maine-based agricultural company specializing in massive greenhouses to produce vine-ripened tomatoes. It had been owned by Devonshire Investors, a Boston-based branch of Fidelity Investments but was sold in June 2017 to a Canadian produce company, Mastronardi Produce of Ontario.

Flipkart Private Limited is an Indian e-commerce company, headquartered in Bangalore, and incorporated in Singapore as a private limited company. The company initially focused on online book sales before expanding into other product categories such as consumer electronics, fashion, home essentials, groceries, and lifestyle products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Climate Corporation</span> American dIgital agriculture services company

The Climate Corporation is a digital agriculture company that examines weather, soil and field data to help farmers determine potential yield-limiting factors in their fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigo Agriculture</span> American agricultural technology company

Indigo Agriculture is a Boston, Massachusetts-based agricultural technology company that works with plant microbes, aiming to improve yields of cotton, wheat, corn, soybeans, and rice. The company also offers crop storage and other logistics programs for farmers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vlad Tenev</span> Bulgaria-born American entrepreneur

Vladimir Tenev is a Bulgarian-American entrepreneur who is the co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, a US-based financial technology services company.

AeroFarms is a sustainable indoor agriculture company based in Danville, VA and uses a patented aeroponic growing system to grow produce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotham Greens</span>

Gotham Greens is an American fresh food and indoor farming company founded and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, that grows local produce year-round in greenhouses, with its lettuces, herbs, salad kits, salad dressings, dips and cooking sauces sold under its brand name.

Nori Inc. was a technology company based in Seattle, Washington, that closed in 2024. The company's main business is a carbon marketplace focused on soil-carbon sequestration and pays farmers who adopt regenerative agriculture practices which may contribute to carbon sequestration.

Smallhold is an American specialty mushroom company based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 2017 by Andrew Carter, Smallhold currently operates indoor mushroom farms in New York City, Austin, and Los Angeles. Smallhold produces yellow oyster, blue oyster, lion's mane, maitake, shiitake, and trumpet mushrooms, along with selling kits for customers to cultivate mushrooms at home. In 2023, Smallhold began to produce and sell mushroom pesto. On February 18, 2024, Smallhold filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

References

  1. 1 2 Peters, Adele (2019-06-10). "This startup is going to put one of the world's largest sustainable greenhouses in coal country". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  2. Kang, Liz (October 6, 2021). "Could the biggest greenhouse in the US be the future of farming?". CNN. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  3. 1 2 Greenaway, Twilight (2022-04-06). "What Will the Rise of Giant Indoor Farms Mean for Appalachian Kentucky?". Civil Eats. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  4. Moomey, Liz (2022-02-28). "AppHarvest recorded a $166 million loss in 2021. It's set to open 3 farms this year". Lexington Herald-Leader .
  5. Peters, Adele (2021-01-19). "This state-of-the-art indoor farm is transforming Appalachia into an agricultural powerhouse". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  6. "AppHarvest to go public via merger with blank-check firm". Reuters. 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  7. "AppHarvest files for Chapter 11". Wall Street Journal. July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  8. Marston, Jennifer (2023-09-05). "Equilibrium & Bosch Growers submit winning bids to acquire AppHarvest's KY greenhouse facilities". AgFunderNews. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
  9. Hempel, Marisa (2022-07-07). "Appharvest locations in Madison County Nearly Complete and Soon Ready to Deliver Fresh Foods". WBONTV. Archived from the original on 2022-07-07. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  10. Gaffney, Austyn (2023-11-16). "A celebrated startup promised Kentuckians green jobs. It gave them a 'grueling hell on earth.'". Grist. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  11. Cheves, John (November 22, 2022). "Once called 'future of farming,' AppHarvest discloses 'substantial doubt' about its future". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  12. Gordon, Allison; Medina, Daniel; Devine, Curt; Lah, Kyung (13 August 2024). "Workers allege 'nightmare' conditions at Kentucky startup JD Vance helped fund | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 13 August 2024.