US: KENTUCKY - AppHarvest Continues To Expand Operations, Adds New Container Farm In Madison County

AppHarvest (WYMT)

By Brandon Robinson

Apr. 22, 2021

RICHMOND, Ky. (WYMT) - Some Central Kentucky high school students will soon be able to help grow food not only for themselves but the entire region.

On Thursday, officials with Morehead-based AppHarvest announced the expansion of their container farm program to Madison County High School in Richmond.

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Gov. Andy Beshear, who attended the event, appropriately held on Earth Day, said the move will not only provide food but help students prepare for possible careers in a field with growing demand.

“AppHarvest has been reimagining and reinventing sustainable food production at its state-of-the-art facility in Morehead. With the opening of the company’s container farm classroom at Madison Central High School, AppHarvest is showing its commitment to the Commonwealth runs both strong and deep,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “This living, teaching lab will inspire and engage Kentucky students to learn about cutting-edge technology that will become the basis of the jobs of the future. Thank you to Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb and his team for making education and Kentucky students a priority in his plans for success.”

The container farm is 2,880 cubic feet, weighs 7.5 tons and includes space to grow up to 4,608 seedlings and 8,800 mature plants all at once using 440 vertical crop columns.

Each retrofitted shipping container serves as a hands-on agricultural classroom for students, allowing them to grow and provide fresh leafy greens to their classmates and those in need in their communities. The company has previously opened container farms in Eastern Kentucky at Breathitt High School in Jackson, Shelby Valley High School in Pikeville, and Rowan County Senior High School in Morehead, the site of the company’s flagship farm.

AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb said the latest expansion will not only help feed Kentuckians but will help Eastern Kentucky’s struggling economy.

“We knew long before opening our Morehead farm that we wanted to invest in the region to help grow our growers and build on the many outstanding community and education programs focused on creating a more resilient Appalachian economy,” Webb said. “The technology in each of these container farms is a good example of what AppHarvest’s modern farmers use daily on a larger scale.”

The Madison Central High School container program will be led by agriculture teacher and FFA adviser Derek Adams.

“Our students are looking forward to getting hands-on experience with state-of-the-art technology that will better prepare them for career opportunities in the agriculture industry,” Adams said. “They are especially eager to see the leafy greens come full circle from farm to table in their own school cafeteria.”