Will Tomatoes Be The Next Big Commercial Crop For Vertical Farms?

By David Kuack

July 22, 2021

Researchers at the University of California-Riverside are using CRISPR technology to develop miniature tomato plants for production in vertical farms and on the International Space Station.

What crops come to mind when you think of vertical farm production? Leafy greens, microgreens and herbs are likely the most common answer. How about tomatoes?

University of California researchers Robert Jinkerson and Martha Orozco-Cárdenas are using CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology to develop short tomato plants that have the potential to be grown in vertical farms and on the International Space Station. Orozco-Cárdenas initially used CRISPR technology to reduce the size of normal tomato plants, including the number of leaves and stems, without significantly reducing the size and yield of the fruit.

“The tomatoes originally were under investigation by my collaborator Dr. Orozco-Cárdenas, who is director of the UC-Riverside Plant Transformation Research Center,” Jinkerson said. “I was touring her research facility and saw tomato plants that were fruiting in vitro. The plants were incredibly small. I thought these tomatoes would have a lot of different applications, particularly for NASA. We also determined that the tomatoes could be well suited for vertical farming. It started out as a basic science project investigating gene function and we expanded it to look toward other applications where genes could be mutated to control plant architecture for vertical farming and for space flight applications.

“For the first iteration, Dr. Orozco-Cárdenas took an existing dwarf tomato plant variety and used CRISPR gene editing to further shrink the plants. Currently we are working on using the CRISPR technology to stack more mutations on top of the original variety. We are also performing gene editing in a commercial indeterminate variety to determine if we can alter the plant architecture and size so that they would be suitable for vertical farm production.”

University of California researchers are studying how to grow tomato plants to the smallest size and still produce the highest fruit yield.

Limits to plant size

Jinkerson said the CRISPR gene-editing technology can be used to create mutations that affect the inflorescence, number of flowers, and branching architecture. Initially plant size was the trait the two researchers were interested in changing, but Jinkerson said he has expanded the studies to include the impact on fruit size and yields.

“We are looking primarily at how we can grow the plants to the smallest size and still produce the highest fruit yield to maximize the harvest index,” Jinkerson said. “The harvest index is the amount and weight of the fruit vs. the weight of the total plant biomass, including the fruit. If there was 100 percent fruit then the harvest index would be 100 percent. But because plants need leaves, stems, and roots, the harvest index can’t be 100 percent.

“There is a point where the plant becomes so small that there are not enough leaves to perform photosynthesis and the plant won’t be able to support the fruit that it is trying to produce. This is something we have to keep in mind as we try to balance the plant size and how much vegetative biomass is needed to produce the fruit. Currently, we are investigating this relationship. We think we are starting to hit the lower limit of size where we cannot make the plants much smaller without negatively affecting the fruit yields.”

University of California researcher Robert Jinkerson is looking to work with commercial controlled environment growers to determine how the short tomatoes work in their production systems.

Overcoming vertical farm limitations

Jinkerson’s tomato research is being funded by a $450,000 New Innovator grant from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research. Even though Jinkerson’s background is in engineering and algae, he saw the potential that vertical farming could have on future food supplies.

“Most commercial crops are grown outdoors and there really are not any restrictions on size,” he said. “For vertical farming there is a lot of work that needs to be done to customize crops for this new production environment. For instance, the plants can only be a certain size and should have a quick production time to reach harvest. They should also be very efficient with the way they utilize artificial light for photosynthesis because electricity for lighting is one of the largest operating costs.”

Part of the FFAR grant is for Jinkerson to work with commercial growers to determine how the short tomatoes that are developed work in their production systems.

“We are interested in finding commercial growers who are operating vertical farms or a commercial partner who can help trial and evaluate the lines that we have already produced and future lines we will be developing,” he said. “Another aspect of the research grant is to take other tomato varieties and try to optimize their architecture for vertical farms in order to have a greater variety of fruit that can be grown in these systems.”

Although Jinkerson does not have a vertical farm set up at the university, he is trialing the plants in a greenhouse and a controlled environment room equipped with fluorescent lights.

“The grow room with fluorescent lighting that we are using is not like a high-tech vertical farm equipped with LEDs,” he said. “The plants have been grown with a photon flux of a few hundred μmol m−2 s−1 PAR at a 16-hour photoperiod. The temperature and humidity have been maintained at normal room conditions. We haven’t tried to optimize environmental conditions for plant growth yet. We haven’t pushed the plants under any extreme conditions, but these are future areas of research we are interested in exploring.”

Jinkerson and his students are also collecting data related to the amount of light that is needed for the plants to flower and fruit under artificial light.

“We have fruit yield data,” he said. “We have done a lot of calculations on fruit yield per volume. This is an important metric for vertical farms. With our data, we can estimate what type of yields we could expect with the plants. Depending on the vertical spacing distance, the yield per volume for the plants we have developed could be anywhere between 1.5 to three times higher compared to greenhouse yields.”

Future crops for vertical farms, space travel

While Jinkerson’s current research is focused on tomatoes he said there is the potential to apply the gene-editing technology being developed to other vertical farm crops.

“We are going to start with other Solanaceae crops, including peppers, eggplant and potatoes,” he said. “We think that many of the findings we have identified with tomato will be able to translate to these other crops because they are closely related to tomato.”

University of California researcher Robert Jinkerson (above) wants to expand the study of CRISPR gene-editing technology beyond tomatoes to other Solanaceae crops, including peppers, eggplant and potatoes.

Part of the research on the tomatoes is being funded by NASA and will be used to conduct a seed-to-seed experiment in space.

“The goal is to grow tomato plants on the International Space Station to fruit and have the astronauts harvest the seed,” Jinkerson said. “The astronauts will then take the seed and grow them for the next crop to have them fruit again. This process is essential in order to have a sustainable crop system for food production. This has never been demonstrated before with tomatoes on the space station.”

The astronauts are currently producing leafy greens on the space station.

“There is very limited physical space on the space station so trying to maximize the harvest index is essential,” Jinkerson said. “This is a very good analog for vertical farms on Earth. With leafy greens the astronauts are able to eat everything but the roots, making these plants perfect for space travel. However, NASA is interested in growing other crops in space. There is an experiment planned for peppers coming up in the next year and our experiment with tomatoes in the next two to three years. Just like vertical farm growers on Earth, astronauts will be trying to produce different types of crops in space.”

Lead Photo: University of California-Riverside researchers Martha Orozco-Cárdenas (above) and Robert Jinkerson are using CRISPR gene-editing technology to develop short tomato plants that have the potential to be grown in vertical farms and on the International Space Station. Photos courtesy of Robert Jinkerson, Univ. of Calif.-Riverside Photos courtesy of Robert Jinkerson, Univ. of Calif.-Riverside

USA: BOSTON - 'Space-Age Farming': Agtech Company Looks To Expand In Mass.

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By Miranda Perez - Inno Reporter

June 23, 2021

AppHarvest has a local office in Woburn and is looking to develop local tech centers under the direction of Chief Technology Officer Josh Lessing. AppHarvest

AppHarvest, a Kentucky-based, agriculture-tech startup, is looking to expand to Boston to further develop its tech-centered farming.

The company now has a local office in Woburn, and it's looking to develop local tech centers under the direction of its chief technology officer, Josh Lessing.

The company (Nasdaq: APPH) was founded in 2017 with the mission to modernize the way food is grown and delivered to large enterprises. It maintains indoor farms that operate year-round, using no pesticides to maintain freshness and relying on recycled rainwater to leverage sustainability.

“This brilliant technology, originally made in the Netherlands, where you could make food anywhere in the world, allows us to do it year-round, with 90% less water and with 30 times more yield per acre,” Lessing said.

The public company, which has 550 employees, is looking to “massively expand'' in upcoming projects in robotics and enterprise software for the agricultural industry. 

In a statement regarding it's 2020 annual filing, the company said it a "pre-revenue state in 2020," and reported a net loss of $17.4 million, compared to $2.7 million for the year before.

AppHarvest has one fully-functional farm right now with two more being built. The goal is to have a dozen by 2025.

The existing farm is a 60-acre building, which Lessing describes as “almost like being inside of some combination of a 60-acre robot and its own world.” Inside is an entire ecosystem of insects that support the pollination of fruits and manage to keep the “bad bugs” away. The main focus is on tomatoes now, but Lessing says he plan to expand to other fruits and vegetables.

Watering is automatic, through robotic systems. Other systems are designed to handle specially designed supplemental lights.

“It's just remarkably space age farming,” Lessing said.

AppHarvest food is available in the top 25 grocery stores and in some food service locations such as Kroger and Wendy’s.

“If you talk to a farmer, there's an infinite amount of work that you can be doing at a farm and there's never enough time to get it done. AppHarvest frees us up to start doing more individualized crop care,” Lessing said.

Nature Fresh Farms Wins Big In The Tomato Category At This Year’s Leamington Greenhouse Vegetable Awards

Leamington, ON (June 15th, 2021) – Greenhouse Competitions in Leamington, Ontario, made a return this year hosting its annual Greenhouse Vegetable Awards this past weekend. Showcasing the best greenhouse-grown produce from leading North American growers, family-owned Nature Fresh Farms came back to the competition, prevailing in their yearly tradition of receiving many top accolades, including overall winner of the Hottest Tomato with their newest Umami Cherry Tomato, in addition to winning the entire Bite-Sized Tomato category with their Axiany placing third, Orange Cherry receiving second, and their Umami Cherry Tomato awarded first place.

Nature Fresh Farms took home awards in the following categories:

• -  Best Overall Tomato

• -  Best Tomato on the Vine Cluster Tomato Category 1st & 2nd Place

• -  Best Bite-Sized Tomato Category 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place

• -  Best Specialty Tomato Category

• -  Sweetest Strawberry Category 2nd Place

• -  Coolest Cucumber, English Cucumber Category 2nd Place

• -  Hottest Tomato, Beefsteak Tomato Category 2nd Place

• -  Hottest Tomato, Roma Tomato Category 3rd Place

• -  Perfect Pepper, Orange Bell Category 2nd Place

• -  Perfect Pepper, Red Bell Category 2nd Place

• -  Perfect Pepper, Yellow Bell Category 2nd Place

The Greenhouse Competitions has been a local event that Nature Fresh Farms looks forward to every year and is always proud of placing and especially honored to earn top spots for some of their favorite varieties!

“Every year this event draws a lot of local attention with the grower base,” shared Director of Sales, Matt Quiring. “This year’s event presented us with a clean sweep on the Bite-Sized Tomato Category taking home 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in one of the most highly sought-after Tomato categories.

In addition to that, we walked away with the Best Cluster, Best Specialty Tomato, and Best Overall Tomato for the 2nd consecutive year the contest has run. It is always great validation to see that our growing processes and seed selection strategies are paying off. With this year being our first year entering into the strawberry segment, we are excited to have also received 2nd place overall proving that we will be a force to contend with in the future!”

Nature Fresh Farms is thrilled to be a Farm Level Sponsor with all funds raised from the Greenhouse Vegetable Awards going to R.E.A.C.H International. This local charity has continuously hosted this annual competition which celebrates Essex County as being the largest greenhouse industry in North America. As a recognized and registered Canadian charity, R.E.A.C.H International’s humanitarian efforts assist the poor all over the world with their main project currently in Uganda.

Lead photo: Matt Quiring (left); Benny Teichroeb (right)

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About Nature Fresh Farms -

Continuously expanding, Nature Fresh Farms has become one of the largest independent, vertically integrated greenhouse vegetable farms in North America. As a year-round grower with farms in Leamington, ON, Delta, OH, and Mexico, Nature Fresh Farms prides itself on consistently delivering exceptional flavor and quality to key retailers throughout North America, while continuing to innovate and introduce more viable and sustainable growing and packaging solutions.

SOURCE:

Nature Fresh Farms | info@naturefresh.ca T: 519 326 1111 | www.naturefresh.ca

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USA - KENTUCKY: AppHarvest Announces Ground-Breaking For Fourth And Fifth High-Tech Indoor Farms

The Company’s Newest Large-Scale Controlled Environment Facilities, Located In Somerset and Morehead, Ky., Will Grow Strawberries And Leafy Greens, Respectively

June 21, 2021 

Source: AppHarvest

MOREHEAD, Ky., June 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AppHarvest, Inc. (NASDAQ: APPH, APPHW), a leading AgTech company, public benefit corporation and Certified B Corp focused on farming more sustainably using up to 90% less water than open-field agriculture and only recycled rainwater, today announced the start of construction for two new high-tech indoor farms in Central Appalachia. The company’s new farms, located in Somerset and Morehead, Ky., will grow berries and leafy greens, respectively.

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The high-tech Somerset farm marks the company’s expansion into growing berry crops. The Somerset indoor farm will be 30 acres.

The high-tech Morehead, Ky. farm is the second AppHarvest farm in Rowan County to date. The new Morehead facility will produce leafy greens and will be about 15 acres.

AppHarvest’s newest indoor farms in Morehead and Somerset are preceded by the company’s flagship 2.76-million-square-foot facility growing tomatoes in Morehead; a 15-acre facility in Berea that will grow leafy greens; and a 60-acre facility in Richmond that will grow vine crops.

"These new facilities place us exactly where we want to be at the forefront of AgTech. With today’s dual announcement, we put ourselves ahead of our development schedule,” said AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb. “Our Somerset and Morehead farms will build on the success of our flagship farm to provide higher quality produce using cutting-edge technology at a large scale.”

AppHarvest’s goal is to operate 12 high-tech indoor farms by the end of 2025, and today’s announcement means five of those now have been put on the map. Construction for both the Somerset and Morehead facility is anticipated to finish by the end of 2022.

“AppHarvest has positioned Kentucky as a leader in the AgriTech industry, created hundreds of good-paying jobs for our people and pushed through and thrived during some of our most difficult times,” said Gov. Beshear. “Even as a pandemic raged, Jonathan Webb and his team built one of the biggest indoor farming operations anywhere using one of the most advanced LED-lighting systems ever created. We know the jobs and investments of the future will flow to those who can meet these challenges, so why not us? AppHarvest is making it happen.” AppHarvest’s newest facilities will provide hundreds of well-paying jobs to Eastern Kentuckians in and around Somerset-Pulaski and Rowan Counties.

Both the Somerset-Pulaski and Rowan County facilities will produce non-GMO fruits and vegetables free of harsh chemical pesticides, to be distributed to top U.S. grocers and restaurants. Because of the company’s strategic location in Appalachia, AppHarvest can reach nearly 70% of the U.S. population in a day’s drive, with up to 80% less diesel fuel compared to existing growers in Mexico and the Southwestern U.S.

Supporting Quotes
Congressman Hal Rogers: “I am excited to welcome AppHarvest to Pulaski County and the Lake Cumberland area. Our rich farming history and skilled workforce makes southern Kentucky a prime partner for this innovative AgTech industry. As AppHarvest expands efforts to farm for our future, they are also inspiring a new generation of ingenuity and stellar work ethic that will benefit our region for generations to come.”

Somerset Mayor Alan Keck: “AppHarvest is breaking ground literally and imaginatively across Southern and Eastern Kentucky, and the company’s record growth creates a beautiful synergy with the record growth we are seeing in Somerset and Pulaski County. We share a vision for what this community and this region of Kentucky can become, that it can grow and thrive with the right nurturing and investment. We are thrilled AppHarvest chose Somerset and Pulaski County to expand and are honored to partner with this visionary company.”

Morehead Mayor Laura White-Brown: “This groundbreaking continues to highlight the progression of Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia. AppHarvest continues to pave the way for communities in this region by contributing to the workforce and economic development and at the same time helping to combat world hunger.”

Pulaski County Judge-Executive Steve Kelley: "What an exciting time this is to witness up-close an industry disruption. Who would have imagined that Southern and Eastern Kentucky could be an industry leader in produce supply? With AppHarvest’s vision and determination, we have that chance. We welcome AppHarvest to our county with open arms, and we can’t wait to see its prosperity here. It is victories like these that make me proud of my county."

About AppHarvest
AppHarvest is an applied technology company building some of the world’s largest high-tech indoor farms in Appalachia that grow non-GMO, chemical pesticide-free produce using up to 90% less water than open-field agriculture and only recycled rainwater while producing yields up to 30 times that of traditional agriculture on the same amount of land with zero agricultural runoff. The Company combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology including artificial intelligence and robotics to improve access for all to nutritious food, farming more sustainably, building a domestic food supply, and increasing investment in Appalachia. The Company’s 60-acre Morehead, Ky. facility is among the largest controlled environment agriculture facilities in the U.S. For more information, visit https://www.appharvest.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, regarding Novus Capital’s proposed acquisition of AppHarvest, Novus Capital’s ability to consummate the transaction, the benefits of the transaction and the combined company’s future financial performance, as well as the combined company’s growth plans and strategy, future operations, estimated financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of AppHarvest’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of AppHarvest. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in Novus Capital’s registration statement on Form S-4, filed with the SEC on October 9, 2020 (the “Registration Statement”), under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents Novus Capital has filed, or will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect AppHarvest’s expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. AppHarvest anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its assessments to change. However, while AppHarvest may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, AppHarvest specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing AppHarvest’s assessments of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

Important Information for Investors and Stockholders
In connection with the proposed transaction, Novus Capital has filed the Registration Statement with the SEC, which includes a preliminary proxy statement to be distributed to holders of Novus Capital’s common stock in connection with Novus Capital’s solicitation of proxies for the vote by Novus Capital’s stockholders with respect to the proposed transaction and other matters as described in the Registration Statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer of securities to be issued to AppHarvest’s stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. After the Registration Statement has been declared effective, Novus Capital will mail a definitive proxy statement, when available, to its stockholders. Investors and security holders and other interested parties are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus, any amendments thereto and any other documents filed with the SEC carefully and in their entirety when they become available because they will contain important information about Novus Capital, AppHarvest and the proposed transaction. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus and definitive proxy statement/prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by Novus Capital through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to: Novus Capital Corporation, 8556 Oakmont Lane, Indianapolis, IN 46260. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, the websites referenced in this press release is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this press release.

Participants in the Solicitation
Novus Capital and its directors and officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of Novus Capital’s shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination. Security holders may obtain more detailed information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of certain of Novus Capital’s executive officers and directors in the solicitation by reading the Registration Statement and other relevant materials filed with the SEC in connection with the business combination when they become available. Information concerning the interests of Novus Capital’s participants in the solicitation, which may, in some cases, be different than those of their stockholders generally, is set forth in the Registration Statement.

MEDIA CONTACT: blair.carpenter@appharvest.com
INVESTOR CONTACT: kaveh.bakhtiari@appharvest.com
IMAGE/VIDEO GALLERY: Available here

AppHarvest Acquires Agricultural Robotics And Artificial Intelligence Company Root AI To Increase Efficiency

Acquisition of Root AI and its signature robot, Virgo, bolsters the company’s intelligent tools to produce foods sustainably. Root AI CEO Joins AppHarvest as Chief Technology Officer

MOREHEAD, Ky., April 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AppHarvest, Inc. (NASDAQ: APPH, APPHW), a leading AgTech company and Certified B Corp focused on farming more sustainably using 90 percent less water than open-field agriculture and only recycled rainwater, announced today that it has acquired Root AI, an artificial intelligence farming startup that creates intelligent robots to help manage high-tech indoor farms. The acquisition of Root AI and its robotic universal harvester, Virgo, is expected to provide AppHarvest with a baseline of harvesting support working alongside crop care specialists focused on more complex tasks. AppHarvest expects the game-changing advantage of the technology to be in the data the robots can collect as they harvest, which can help evaluate crop health, precisely predict yield and optimize overall operations of the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facility. 

“Farming as we’ve known it is broken because of the increasing number of variables such as extreme weather, droughts, fire, and contamination by animals that make our food system unreliable. Indoor farming solves for many of those challenges, and the data gathered can exponentially deliver more insights that help us predict and control crop quality and yield,” said AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb. “One of the key challenges in agriculture is accurately predicting yield. Many downstream decisions from work scheduling to transportation to retail planning are based on that. Any deviation between projection and actual yield can result in fire drills for numerous functions to adjust for the change, and AI can help solve for that.”  

Root AI co-founder and CEO Josh Lessing will take on the role of Chief Technology Officer for AppHarvest where he will take the lead in continuing to develop the robots and their AI capabilities for the network of indoor farms that AppHarvest is building. Lessing, along with co-founder Ryan Knopf who will join AppHarvest as vice president of technology, helped establish Root AI as an early leader in employing artificial intelligence in CEA. Virgo is the world’s first universal harvester, which can be configured to identify and harvest multiple crops of varying sizes including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and more delicate fruits such as strawberries among others.

Though Virgo can work indoors or out, the robot’s focus has been on controlled environment agriculture. Over the past three years, it has collected the world’s largest data set of tomato images to enable it to identify more than 50 varieties in multiple growing environments and at varying stages of maturity to learn how and when to harvest. 

Virgo uses a set of cameras combined with an infrared laser to generate a 3D color scan of an area to determine the work it can perform. Once it maps the tomatoes, it assesses their orientation and determines if they are ripe enough to pick. The robot can be programmed to make other quality assessments as well. The scan enables the robot to find the least obstructive and fastest route to pick the crop ahead of the arrival of the robotic arm and gripper. The robot can identify hundreds of tomatoes in a fraction of a second without having to connect to the cloud. Virgo keeps score on its success rate like a video game. A built-in feedback mechanism constantly evaluates its efficiency so it learns how to harvest any given configuration of fruit most effectively.

“A piece of food—whether that’s a tomato or a berry or a cucumber—is an outcome from many variables that are part of the growing process. Enhanced data collection for each plant through the robot can lead to insights that teach us precisely how to design better, more resilient food systems that are reliable and that produce more food with fewer resources,“ said Lessing. “Joining forces with AppHarvest is a natural fit: we want to ensure a stable, safe supply of the nutritious and healthy food that people should be eating -- grown sustainably -- and doing that at the scale of AppHarvest gives us the opportunity to make the greatest difference.” 

Gathering more data through AI enables growers to use real-time information to improve a number of sustainability efforts such as detecting and eliminating pests naturally, helping indoor farms successfully grow chemical pesticide-free fruits and vegetables.

AppHarvest is investing approximately $60 million, consisting of approximately $10 million in cash and the balance in AppHarvest common shares, to acquire Root AI. The Company will issue approximately 2,328,000 shares for the transaction.

Founded in 2018, Root AI is based in Somerville, Mass., and has 19 full-time employees, all of whom are expected to join AppHarvest’s technology group to help advance the mission of building a resilient and sustainable food supply.

About AppHarvest

AppHarvest is an applied technology company building some of the world’s largest high-tech indoor farms in Appalachia that grow non-GMO, chemical pesticide-free produce using 90 percent less water than open-field agriculture and only recycled rainwater while producing yields up to 30 times that of traditional agriculture on the same amount of land with zero agricultural runoff. The Company combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology and is addressing key issues including improving access for all to nutritious food, farming more sustainably, building a domestic food supply, and increasing investment in Appalachia. The Company’s 60-acre Morehead, Ky. facility is among the largest indoor farms in the U.S.

For more information, visit https://www.appharvest.com/.

VIDEO: Kentucky Greenhouse Company AppHarvest Goes Public On Nasdaq As It Prepares To Grow

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BY LIZ MOOMEY

FEBRUARY 03, 2021

AppHarvest opens a 60-acre greenhouse in Morehead that will provide 300+ jobs and grow organic tomatoes.

AppHarvest has estimated it will generate net revenue of $21 million in 2021.

The company is expected to produce 45 million pounds of tomatoes annually. AppHarvest employs 300 Eastern Kentuckians.

David Wicks, Nasdaq’s vice president of new listings, said he was “incredibly proud to be your partner and look forward to supporting your innovation as a NASDAQ listing company” in a video message Monday.

Founder and CEO Jonathan Webb eats an AppHarvest tomato in a video message displayed in Times Square on Monday.

Two weeks ago, AppHarvest shipped its first bundle of tomatoes from its flagship location in Morehead.

“All this noise that is happening around us — listing on the Nasdaq and being shown in Times Square, selling our tomatoes to the largest grocers in the U.S. — all that is resonating back on the ground inside of our facility where our employees are feeling the positive impact of the work we’re all doing together,” Webb said.

The beefsteak tomatoes are selling out at grocers around the country.

“We can’t grow fast enough,” he said. “Our tomatoes are hitting store shelves and flying off the store shelves. It’s not just Kentucky, it’s everywhere from Indiana, all the way down to Florida.”

Webb said the company’s job now is to build faster and grow more vegetables to get on store shelves.

The company continues to look throughout Eastern Kentucky for building sites, Webb said, but there are challenges.

“We just have to find a place to build,” he said. “We have the capital. We want to build there, but building on these reclaimed coal mine sites are incredibly challenging and very expensive to try to make work. We would love to be there.”

The first greenhouse was originally planned for Pikeville, but AppHarvest said the site, a reclaimed strip mine, was not feasible for construction. After about two years of delays, AppHarvest announced its decision to relocate to a 350-acre parcel about two miles off I-64 near the Sharkey community of Rowan County.

Webb said they continue to invest in Pike County with a container farm at Shelby Valley High School. AppHarvest has two other farms at schools in Rowan and Breathitt counties.

The company aims to have 12 facilities growing and supplying fruits and vegetables by 2025. AppHarvest already announced a Berea facility to grow leafy greens and a Richmond facility to grow vine crops.

“One massive impact of 12 facilities is we’re going to have hundreds of millions of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables pouring out of our region,” Webb said. “Not only the economic benefits of that, but the health benefits are tremendous. We’re in a situation where not many companies can say they feel incredibly proud of the product they produce and we do that.”

The first AppHarvest tomatoes will be in grocery stores by Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.

Photos: COURTESY OF APPHARVEST

LIZ MOOMEY - 704-890-7548

Liz Moomey is a Reporter for America Corps member covering Eastern Kentucky for the Lexington Herald-Leader. She is based in Pikeville.

Pure Flavor® Receives International Taste Award For New Cloud 9® Tomato

Leamington, ON (February 1st, 2021) – While consumers continue to look for more healthy snacks in the fresh produce aisle, greenhouse vegetable grower Pure Flavor® is launching their new Cloud 9® Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes to help meet the growing demand for consistently flavorful options. After extensive product trials and consumer taste testing, many are heralding the new tomato variety as an everyday snack game changer.  

“We taste hundreds of tomatoes every year searching for something special - unique colors, shapes, sizes, but most importantly flavor. From the first taste of the Cloud 9® variety, we knew we had found it”, said Jamie Moracci, President. With fruit like flavor, the new Cloud 9® Tomatoes are going to redefine what snacking tomatoes should taste like as an everyday item, not just as color in a salad. “We have created the Cloud 9® Standard for quality and look forward to consumers enjoying this premium and hand-selected bite-sized tomato every day”, said Moracci. 

 Strategically grown in high-tech greenhouses in Canada, USA, and Mexico, Cloud 9® Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes are available year-round. With a distinct color, unique shape, and a fruit-like flavor profile, Pure Flavor® has conducted extensive product trials in key growing regions to create the appropriate growing formula to consistently produce an exceptional snacking tomato. 

“From the first bite, you know this will be memorable: it’s a fresh snacking experience that comes from an unwavering commitment to quality”, commented Matt Mastronardi, Executive Vice-President. Available in a variety of formats, Pure Flavor®’s award-winning Cloud 9® Tomato is available starting February 1st to be shipped throughout North America. “We hand-select a limited quantity of the most vibrant tomatoes so you can enjoy bold, balanced flavor that sweetens any snack or homecooked meal”, said Mastronardi. 

Pure Flavor® recently received the prestigious Superior Taste Award Certification from the International Taste Institute (Brussels, Belgium) for the Cloud 9® Tomato. The reviewing Jury, consisting of more than 200 renowned European Chefs & Sommeliers from over 20 countries, critically tested & analyzed the Cloud 9® Tomato and highlighted these characteristics to award the product the Superior Taste designation: 

• Very clear, ripe tomato flavor with a marked sweetness; the taste lingers for a long time on your palate

• These tomatoes have an original shape, and the size makes them ideal as a snack or for use in the kitchen

• An intense red color with a soft texture and sweet taste; nice and juicy – good balance between sweetness & acidity

• The product is very versatile; can be used in numerous different recipes and types of cuisines, suitable as a snack, in pasta, salads, stews, with various proteins (beef, poultry, fish), or even a Gazpacho

 “It’s a strict process where all products are blind tasted; this means that the samples are anonymized, we do not see the packaging and do not know the brand name nor the producers’ name - we don’t even know from which country the product comes from. This forces us to be completely objective as we do the sensory analysis. Only truly good products are certified”, stated Stijn Roelandt – Sous-Chef at Hof van Cleve, 3 Michelin stars and member of the Jury, International Taste Institute. 

The launch of a sweeter snacking tomato comes at a time when consumers are looking to enjoy a wider variety of healthy foods to eat at home. Cloud 9® offers consumers a healthy new snack option that will “make life’s sweetest moments even sweeter” – figuratively and of course, quite literally.  

Video #1: https://youtu.be/CrsCQTszdp0 

Video #2: https://youtu.be/hQIwq8M2Tfs  

“The award-winning Cloud 9® tomatoes burst with a fruity sweetness that enriches any dish or eating occasion, every recipe you create deserves to be a showstopper”, said Chris Veillon, Chief Marketing Officer.  

In anticipation of the new product launch, Pure Flavor® spent the last 16+ months developing the Cloud 9® brand to ensure that consumers could go beyond the package to enjoy all aspects of the tomato.  

“Our team has developed dozens of recipes, conducted in person tasting surveys before the pandemic and hundreds of digital preference surveys during the Love For Fresh campaign late last fall, to creating engaging web & social content in lifestyle situations – we needed to effectively communicate that Cloud 9® is not just another salad topper, it’s the sweetness you crave with the quality you deserve. We think it’s a tiny taste of heaven™”, said Veillon. 

To learn more about Cloud 9® Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes, please visit: https://www.pure-flavor.com/cloud9/  

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About Pure Flavor® - 

Pure Flavor® is a family of greenhouse vegetable growers who share a commitment to bringing A Life of Pure Flavor™ to communities everywhere. Our passion for sustainable greenhouse growing, strong support for our retail & foodservice customers, and focus on engaging consumers is built on a foundation drawn from generations of growing expertise.  

We are the next generation of vegetable growers, inspired to put quality, flavor, and customers first by providing greenhouse-grown vegetables from our farms that are strategically located throughout North America. 

About the International Taste Institute –  

The International Taste Institute, founded in 2005 and based in Brussels, Belgium, evaluates and certifies the taste of food and drink from all over the world. Its jury is composed of over 200 renowned Chefs and Sommeliers from 15 European culinary or sommeliers associations.  

The Taste Institutes performs objective sensory evaluation: its jury follows a rigorous blind tasting methodology in which product samples are anonymized to avoid any bias in the scoring. In addition to the scoring of the various sensory analysis criteria, the jury provides comments and eventually suggestions for further product improvement or food pairing suggestions.