AppHarvest stakes 2 more greenhouses in Appalachian Ky.

Tomatoes growing at AppHarvest's flagship site in Morehead (Image from WKYT-TV )

AppHarvest, the company building huge, high-tech greenhouses in Kentucky to grow vegetables and fruits, wants to have 12 sites by the end of 2025, and new locations announced Monday near Somerset and Morehead "will put the company nearly halfway there," Bill Estep reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A 30-acre greenhouse near Somerset will grow strawberries and a 15-acre one in Morehead will have leafy greens."

The venture-capital company, which went public in February, has grown by leaps and bounds since forming in 2017. Its 60-acre flagship site in Morehead has been growing tomatoes since 2020, and there are two other sites under construction: a 15-acre facility in Berea that will grow leafy greens and a 60-acre facility in Richmond for vine crops, Chris Radcliffe reports for Business Lexington.

AppHarvest employs nearly 500, mostly at its Morehead site; those under construction will employ hundreds more. Co-founder Jonathan Webb has said that bringing high-paying jobs to Eastern Kentucky, which has suffered a steep decline in coal jobs, is a key goal of the company. None of the sites are in the state's eastern coalfield, but are close to it, and are in "official Appalachia."

Webb also emphasizes environmental sustainability. "AppHarvest uses recycled rainwater to grow vegetables and fruit with 90 percent less water than field agriculture, producing more food with fewer resources, according to the company," Estep reports.

Another goal: bringing large-scale produce production back to the U.S. and protecting it from drought. Much of the nation's produce comes from California and Mexico, which are frequently hit with droughts. "Imports of strawberries to the U.S. have increased 70% in the last four years," Estep reports. "There is an opportunity for AppHarvest to replace some of those imports, Webb said."