MOREHEAD, Ky., March 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AppHarvest, Inc., a leading AgTech company, public benefit corporation and Certified B Corp building some of the country’s largest high-tech indoor farms to grow affordable, nutritious fruits and vegetables at scale while providing good jobs in Appalachia, has been named one of five finalists for the 24th annual SXSW Innovation Awards in the New Economy category for its 60-acre high-tech indoor farm in Morehead, Ky.
The SXSW Innovation Awards recognize and celebrate the most exciting tech developments in the connected world. Of hundreds of applications submitted, AppHarvest was one of 65 finalists selected across 13 categories by a panel of judges composed of industry peers and experts.
Climate change is decimating outdoor crops and threatening the global food supply. AppHarvest believes high-tech indoor farms are a key part of the solution to build a climate-resilient food system by leveraging the best of nature, people and technology including artificial intelligence and robotics.
“We need sustainable solutions to feed the world’s growing population using fewer resources while providing good jobs,” said Jonathan Webb, AppHarvest Founder & CEO. “We’re grateful for the spotlight that the SXSW recognition puts on this critical issue and the innovation of our approach to controlled environment agriculture [CEA] leveraging nature supported by world-class technology like artificial intelligence and robotics to grow fruits and vegetables using 90% less water, with up to 30 times yield per acre versus traditional farming.”
AppHarvest will review the company and its technology in the SXSW Innovation Awards Showcase on Saturday, March 12, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the JW Marriott Austin – Griffin Hall. AppHarvest will offer virtual reality tours of its flagship farm that is about 50 football fields in size with a rainwater reservoir the size of around 70 Olympic swimming pools. The winners in each of the 13 categories, plus additional honors, will be awarded at the 24th annual SXSW Innovation Awards on Monday, March 14, 2022.
AppHarvest’s flagship 60-acre indoor farm in Morehead, Ky., produces non-GMO sustainably grown tomatoes that are available in more than 1,000 top national grocery stores and food service outlets. The company is quadrupling its farm network and diversifying its crops to include salad greens and berries by year-end.
The three new high-tech farms—the 15-acre Berea, Ky., salad greens facility, the 60-acre Richmond, Ky., tomato facility and the 30-acre Somerset, Ky., berry facility are currently under construction and are expected to be operational by the end of 2022.
AppHarvest is developing artificial intelligence, software and robotics solutions such as Virgo, a prototype universal harvesting tool, both to optimize its farms and to serve the larger controlled environment agriculture sector globally. The company is also investing in the next generation of farmers and futurists by supporting high school AgTech education in Central Appalachia with hands-on, high-tech hydroponic classrooms.
For more information about the SXSW Innovation Awards and to view the complete list of 2022 finalists, visit www.sxsw.com/awards/innovation-awards/.
About AppHarvest
AppHarvest is an applied technology company in Appalachia developing and operating some of the world’s largest high-tech indoor farms, designed to grow non-GMO, chemical pesticide-free produce, using up to 90 percent less water than open-field agriculture and only rainwater while producing yields up to 30 times that of traditional agriculture on the same amount of land without agricultural runoff. The company combines conventional agricultural techniques with world-class 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 indoor farms in the world. For more information, visit https://www.appharvest.com/.
