High-tech rural Ky. produce grower AppHarvest plans big expansions in Central Appalachia, founder/CEO tells CBS

One of the two AppHarvest tomato greenhouses near Morehead, Kentucky

AppHarvest, a company bringing fresh produce and high-tech agriculture jobs to Eastern Kentucky, has big plans for the future, according to a "CBS This Morning" profile  Tuesday. "Everybody watch out for Central Appalachia," AppHarvest founder and CEO Jonathan Webb, a native of the region, said in an interview with environmental correspondent Ben Tracy. "We’re absolutely going to be one of the largest fruit and vegetable suppliers in the U.S. in the decades to come."

AppHarvest, which shipped its first tomatoes four months ago and began public trading in January, aims to capitalize on geography, weather trends, and smart farming practices to produce more food with fewer resources. Its farms are designed to use 90 percent less water than usual and yield up to 30 times more than traditional open-field agriculture. Its 2.76-million-square-foot flagship farm in Morehead is expected to produce about 45 million pounds of tomatoes annually, AppHarvest says in a press release.

Tracy, who spent the day at the Morehead farm, said such efforts are critical: "Re-inventing farming on a changing planet is crucial because the United Nations says the world’s farmers need to grow 60% more food by 2050 to feed the estimated 9.3 billion people that will be living on the planet." And, Tracy noted, much of the nation's produce comes from California and Mexico, which are frequently hit with droughts. 

"It makes so much sense when you think about it,” said CBS This Morning’s Anthony Mason. "Those are some good-looking tomatoes."