Ag tech company AppHarvest may only be a few years old, but growth for both the operation and its tomato crops moves at a breakneck pace these days. After shipping its first harvest to stores in late January of this year, AppHarvest proceeded to go public at the start of February and has since broken ground on two more farms, acquired a robotics company, and announced it will soon grow leafy greens and strawberries in addition to tomatoes.
And while it’s one thing to say the Morehead, Kentucky-based company operates a 60-acre (2.76 million square feet) greenhouse powered by tech and a deep sense of purpose, it’s another thing to actually stand inside the facility and see the future of agriculture changing before one’s very eyes.
I had the honor of doing just that at the end of last week, when I drove up to Morehead, Kentucky and took a tour of the facility, which literally stretches into the Appalachian horizon as far as the eye can see. Here’s a look at what goes on inside:
Tomatoes grow in long rows like above. AppHarvest trains these Tomatoes on the Vine (TOVs) to grow in clusters of five.
The greenhouse relies primarily on sunlight for plants. Supplemental lighting, hanging above the plants, can be used when sunlight is weak or when the company wants to speed up the growing time of crops. At night, a sheet automatically unrolls to cover the roof so that surrounding neighbors are not disturbed by the lights.
Tomato roots inside the growth media block. Since the entire greenhouse is hydroponic, no soil is used in the grow process.
Nutrient-enriched water is pumped to the plants via a hydroponic drip system that can deliver precise levels to plants as they need it.
Autonomous carts shuttle cases of tomatoes to the packing room once the fruit is harvested.
A high-level (literally) view of the tomato plants. AppHarvest grows about 800,000 plants at once in its 60-acre facility. A forthcoming farm in Richmond, Kentucky, will be almost identical in terms of layout and the amount it can grow.
Reservoirs and a UV filtration system for the facility’s water supply. AppHarvest relies solely on rainwater collected on the building’s roof. Water is pumped from a retention pond into this room before being delivered to plants via drip irrigation.
The packing room, where tomatoes are assessed and made ready to ship to grocery stores and restaurants. AppHarvest ships to those within a day’s drive, which the company says is about 70 percent of the U.S. population.
As mentioned above, AppHarvest plans to open an almost-identical facility outside of Richmond, Kentucky, and a 15-acre farm in Berea for growing leafy greens. The company said it plans to have 12 farms up and running by 2025.
The CEA sector as a whole, meanwhile, is currently getting more investment than ever before as companies build out different versions of indoor farms. Modular vertical farms, warehouse-sized vertical farms, at-home farms, vertical greenhouses, and massive operations like those of AppHarvest are all promising solutions that can exist alongside traditional agriculture. The consensus from my visit to AppHarvest last week is that in order to improve the food system and feed a growing global population, we’re going to need all those methods in the future.
In the meantime, AppHarvest’s TOVs and Beefsteak tomatoes are available at Walmart, Kroger, and Meijer stores in certain parts of the U.S.
Are you planning on having a AppHarvest near Somerset Ky?