80 Acres Farms is back in the news this week with a ribbon-cutting for its new 200,000-square-foot facility in Boone County, Kentucky. The company’s largest, most advanced and most productive farm yet, the nearly 4.6-acre facility is poised to serve customers across multiple states and markets, with projected outputs of up to forty million servings of produce per year. Almost three times the size of the company’s flagship farm in Ohio—operational since 2019—the Kentucky location is touted as being at least four times as productive.
“There is nothing like this anywhere else in the world,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear during a preview tour on September 12. “I am so proud that this level of technology, where advanced manufacturing meets farming, is right here in Kentucky.”
Built inside a former printing facility, the farm represents a $95 million investment in Kentucky that will create 125 jobs in the state. With this opening, 80 Acres Farms significantly expands its restaurant and retailer reach, including the approximately 700 new Kroger stores announced last month. The farm will also support the company’s new grab-and-go salad kits.
“To support our expansion into new markets and new products, we need more capacity,” said 80 Acres Farms CEO and co-founder Mike Zelkind. “That said, this is a lot more than just capacity. This is our most efficient farm yet, allowing us to keep improving our unit economics and keep growing this company sustainably.”
The farm runs on 80 Acres Farms’ proprietary Loop platform, developed by the company’s tech-focused subsidiary, Infinite Acres. Encompassing crop management software, algorithms, environmental controls, robotics and automation, Loop is supported by partnerships with leading international technology companies.
“It’s exciting to witness the growth of 80 Acres Farms,” said Ruth Gratzke, President of Siemens Smart Infrastructure USA, who spoke at the farm’s grand opening yesterday. “Siemens is a proud supplier of both hardware and software solutions at the farm. We are looking forward to helping 80 Acres Farms expand even further across the U.S. and the world, making their goal of worldwide food security a reality.”
With the completion of the Kentucky farm, 80 Acres Farms’ construction team can turn its attention to Georgia, where the company will open another 200,000-square-foot farm in 2024.
Images courtesy of 80 Acres Farms: Founders Mike Zelkind and Tisha Livingston, joined by employees and special guests, open the farm on September 13, 2023; Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear visits the farm on September 12, 2023.