LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An indoor farming company based in eastern Kentucky opened its first day on the stock market with a bang.
Just a few weeks ago, AppHarvest shipped off the first batch of tomatoes grown indoors on its 60-acre facility in Morehead, Kentucky, to grocery store chains around the East Coast. On Monday, the agritech company's stock soared 44%, and CEO Jonathan Webb rang the Nasdaq bell to open the stock exchange.
"This marks a major milestone in being able to achieve our overall mission to sustainably grow fruits and vegetables at an affordable price for every American," Webb said during the bell-ringing ceremony.
Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday applauded AppHarvest's progress growth and bright future.
"There’s a lot of excitement out there," Beshear said in a news release. "When we focus on the future, there is so much we can do and so much potential here in Kentucky."
AppHarvest said its Morehead greenhouse, which houses 720,000 tomato plants over the equivalent of 45 football fields, is one of the largest single-story buildings in the world. Its tomato plants will be harvested continually and can grow to 45 feet high, helping achieve 30 times the yield of a traditional farm.
AppHarvest is currently building a 60-acre facility in Richmond, Kentucky, and a 15-acre facility to grow leafy greens in Berea, Kentucky. With a goal of eventually shipping 45 million pounds of tomatoes each year, the company plans to build a total of 12 indoor farms across Appalachia by 2025.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
