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Vertical Farming To Shape Food's Future Top Companies To Share Expertise At Online Congress - September 22-24, 2020
The first Vertical Farming World Congress will now be held online on 22-24 September, with numerous innovations to help develop an emerging community of leading producers, funders, suppliers, and customers. Its theme will be ‘Shaping Food’s Future
The first Vertical Farming World Congress will be held online from 22nd to 24th September, bringing together the sector’s top minds and businesses, who believe the coronavirus pandemic will accelerate the industry’s inevitable growth. With the theme ‘Shaping Food’s Future’, the event is sponsored by LED lighting solutions provider Heilux.
“This is a unique opportunity for interested investors, agriculturalists, food producers, suppliers, academics and governments,” commented Richard Hall, Chairman of event organizer Zenith Global, the food and drink experts. “There may never be a better time, because the industry is rapidly establishing itself and an online event gives a ringside seat more affordably, along with all kinds of extra features.
“In addition to the most authoritative speakers ever assembled on the sector, there will be virtual farm tours, round tables on key issues, and extensive social as well as one-to-one networking. There will be ongoing access afterwards to review presentations and continue making new connections.
“It will be difficult to beat the caliber and geographic spread of our speakers:
Our industry leadership panel has the founders and chief executives of AeroFarms and 80 Acres Farms from the United States plus Intelligent Growth Solutions and Jones Food Company from the United Kingdom.
On sustainability, we have the World Wildlife Fund; on retailing, we have Migros from Switzerland.
Investors are represented by AgFunder, Ashfords, Innovate UK, and Virgo.
Other leading contributors range from the global Association of Vertical Farming to Wageningen University.
Other talks include a view of the city of the future, a nutrition briefing, and debate about the relative merit of aeroponics, aquaponics, and hydroponics.
A technology briefing will look in-depth at operational choices, plant growth, lighting, and robotics.
Innovator case studies include growing underground, modular aeroponics, shipping containers, and success in Taiwan.”
Media partners include AgFunder, Agritecture, AOA Chile, Association of Vertical Farming, Eatable Adventures, Farm Tech Society, FoodBev Media, Hortidaily, iGrow, Japan Plant Factory Association, NextGenChef, Urban Ag News, Vertical Farming Consulting, and Vertical Farming Podcast. Full program and booking details are available at zenithglobal.com/events. There is a specially discounted rate for start-ups.
Media partners include AgFunder, Agritecture, AOA Chile, Association of Vertical Farming, Eatable Adventures, Farm Tech Society, FoodBev Media, Hortidaily, iGrow News, Japan Plant Factory Association, NextGenChef, Urban Ag News, Vertical Farming Consulting, and Vertical Farming Podcast.
Full program and booking details are available at zenithglobal.com/events.
There is a specially discounted rate for start-ups.
For further information, go to www.zenithglobal.com/events or contact events@zenithglobal.com.
Martha Stewart, J.D. Vance And Impossible Foods’ David Lee Join Board of AgTech Leader AppHarvest
Company adds executives from The Carlyle Group, Impossible Foods and raises new round from sustainability-focused investors such as Jeffrey Ubben and James Murdoch as COVID-19 heightens need for more resilient domestic supply chains
The company adds executives from The Carlyle Group, Impossible Foods and raises new round from sustainability-focused investors such as Jeffrey Ubben and James Murdoch as COVID-19 heightens need for more resilient domestic supply chains
AUGUST 6, 2020 – MOREHEAD, KENTUCKY – AppHarvest announced today that food entrepreneur and icon Martha Stewart, Impossible Foods Chief Financial Officer David Lee, and best-selling author and investor J.D. Vance, have joined the company’s Board of Directors as it prepares to open one of the world’s largest indoor farms this fall in Morehead, KY. Starting with non-GMO tomatoes, AppHarvest’s farms will provide freshly grown American fruits and vegetables for national grocers, meeting the enormous and growing demand for locally grown produce amidst the supply chain challenges created by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“The future of food will be, has to be, growing nutrient-rich and delicious produce closer to where we eat,” Stewart said. “That means food that tastes better and food that we feel better about consuming. AppHarvest is driving us towards that future and working from within Appalachia to elevate the region.”
Added Vance, “The last few months have taught us that our food system is a little more precarious than we realized. AppHarvest will change that, and it will do so by building a sustainable, durable business in Appalachia, and investing in the people who call it home.”
Added Lee, “AppHarvest’s innovative approach to agriculture has the potential to dramatically change the way we get our produce and the impact our food has on the natural environment. I’m excited to join their mission as they enter this next phase of growth.”
Anna Mason, Partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, the fund led by AOL Co-founder Steve Case to back companies outside of Silicon Valley, will also join the Board. “AppHarvest’s rapid expansion and job creation is exactly what Rise of the Rest envisioned with its focus on helping companies in Middle America grow,” Mason said.
Inspired by the belief that the technology already exists today to grow dramatically more food, with far fewer resources, AppHarvest’s indoor farms reduce the need for acreage, use no harmful pesticides, lessen fuel used in shipping, and are the first of their size that will rely entirely on recycled rainwater for all water needs. AppHarvest’s closed-loop water system eliminates agricultural runoff common in open-field agriculture. This is critical as the U.S. ramps up efforts to secure food systems that can withstand health and climate disruptions.
“It’s time for agriculture in America to change,” said AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb. “The pandemic has demonstrated the need to establish more resilient food systems, and our work is on the forefront of that effort. Eastern Kentucky, with its central U.S. location, provides the perfect place to build AppHarvest’s indoor farms while also providing much-needed jobs to a ready workforce.”
AppHarvest’s 2.76-million-square-foot controlled environment agriculture facility has already created 100 construction jobs and will create more than 300 full-time permanent jobs for residents of Eastern Kentucky, where 44 percent more residents are unemployed than the national average.
With its vision to create America’s AgTech capital in Appalachia, AppHarvest has been recognized for its focus on social good. The company has been certified by the independent non-profit B Lab as a
B Corporation, passing a rigorous audit of its sustainability practices.
AppHarvest is also announcing the hires of Marcella Butler as the company’s first Chief People Officer, Jackie Roberts as its first Chief Sustainability Officer, and Geof Rochester as its first Chief Marketing Officer. Butler joins AppHarvest after serving as Impossible Foods' first Chief People Officer, where she led the tripling of employees to more than 650 individuals. Prior to joining Impossible Foods, she worked at Google, first in People Operations, followed by Corporate Development, where she led global acquisition due diligence and integration activities. Roberts joins AppHarvest from The Carlyle Group, where her roles included Chief Sustainability Officer. Prior to The Carlyle Group, she served in several senior roles at the Environmental Defense Fund. Rochester, who has decades of experience in marketing and corporate social responsibility, previously served as Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer of The Nature Conservancy with prior work at WWE, Showtime, Comcast, and Procter & Gamble.
AppHarvest’s Board and staff additions come as the company closes its $28 million Series C funding round. Combined with the company’s prior funding rounds, including project financing, AppHarvest has attracted more than $150 million in investment in just over two years.
Narya, the new venture capital firm co-founded by Vance and Colin Greenspon as well as backed by leading entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, led the investment round with participation from existing investors ValueAct Capital’s Spring Fund, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, and Equilibrium, which has provided nearly $100 million in project financing to date.
New investors include Lupa Systems, the private investment firm founded last year by James Murdoch (who along with the ValueAct Spring Fund and Equilibrium, are leading the way for venture’s expansion into sustainability-focused investments); Breyer Capital, founded by early Facebook investor Jim Breyer; food and agriculture fund S2G Ventures (Seed 2 Growth); Black Capital, led by NBA legend Kevin Johnson; and Endeavor Catalyst, the co-investment vehicle through which Endeavor invests into companies founded by its entrepreneurs. Endeavor selected Webb as an Endeavor Entrepreneur in 2019.
“AppHarvest is poised to be a leader of the modern agricultural transformation, and we’re enthused to be a part of its upcoming launch and growth phases both in the U.S. and internationally,” said Frederic Michel, Partner at Lupa Systems. “The team is developing a compelling model that can respond rapidly to the needs for efficiency, sustainability, quality, and resiliency in the food sector today.”
The Series C funding round will allow the company to continue to recruit top-tier talent from around the globe as it prepares to build additional farms throughout Central Appalachia.
About AppHarvest
AppHarvest is building some of the world’s largest indoor farms, combining conventional agricultural techniques with today’s technology to grow non-GMO, chemical-free fruits and vegetables to be sold to the top 25 U.S. grocers. The company has developed a unique system to reduce water usage by 90% compared to typical farms, as a 10-acre, on-site rainwater retention pond pairs with sophisticated circular irrigation systems. The system also eliminates agricultural runoff entirely. By locating within Appalachia, AppHarvest benefits from being less than a day’s drive to 70% of the U.S. population. That lowers diesel use in transportation costs by 80%, allowing the company's fresher produce to compete against low-cost foreign imports.
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The world’s leading farm operators, food retailers, and investors will present live, before hosting virtual discussion groups on the emerging trends and technologies that will shape your business as we emerge from the current crisis into a redesigned food system:
Key Themes:
Finding Growth in Crisis: Responding to a Rapidly Changing Food Landscape
Scaling Up: Co-locating Food Production and Distribution Centers
Enhancing Nutritional Value: Towards a Perfect Plant Recipe
Optimizing Seeds for Indoor Agriculture: Breeding a Competitive Advantage
Analytics and the Cloud: Digital Integration to Optimize Indoor Agriculture
Robotics: Developing a Contactless Food System
Energy Consumption: Driving Efficiency and Economic Viability
Financing Growth: Can Capital Keep Pace with Industry Demand?
Consumer Awareness: How to Build a “Holistic” Indoor Brand
All participants can schedule video 1-1 meetings with potential partners and clients throughout the summit, and for an extended period before and after the sessions.
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