US based vertical farming company 80 Acres Farms has opened its largest, most advanced, and most productive vertical farm in Boone County, Kentucky. Built inside a former printing facility, the farm covers 200,000 square feet and will support the company’s new grab-and-go salad kits.
Positioned to serve customers across multiple US states and markets, the farm can grow up to 40 million servings of produce per year, using the company’s proprietary hardware and software solutions to operate more efficiently than ever before. The farm is about three times the size of the company’s previous largest farm and at least four times as productive.
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.
“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.”
“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. “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.
80 Acres Farms has launched three curated fresh kits this month:
- Feelin’ Gouda, with red and green leaf lettuces, gouda cheese, apple chips, dried cherries, sea salt pecans, and a poppy seed vinaigrette
- Greekin’ Out, with red and green leaf lettuces, feta cheese, marinated artichokes, pickled beets, garlic croutons, and a Mediterranean-inspired dressing
- Rockin’ Ranchero, with crispy leaf lettuce, white cheddar cheese, black beans, crunchy corn, pickled onions, and a smoky chipotle dressing
