80 Acres Farms to shut down operations 

Vertical farming company 80 Acres Farms BB #:358643 announced this week it is shutting down, having failed to secure financing to keep operating. 

Founded in 2015, the Hamilton, OH-based firm operated five indoor vertical farms, growing and packing salads and microgreens, and selling them in more than 17,000 retail locations in chains such as Albertson’s, Dorothy Lane Markets, The Fresh Market, H-E-B, King Soopers, Mariano’s, Meijer, Metro Market, Pick ‘n Save, Safeway, and Walmart, with Fred Meyer, QFC. 

Mike Zelkind, cofounder and CEO of 80 Acres Farms said in an August 3 statement, “After an exhaustive effort to find a way forward, 80 Acres Farms is winding down operations. 
 
“For a decade, our team has proven that vertical farming can work at scale—building and operating indoor farms that ultimately supplied more than 18,000 retail locations across the U.S. We’re proud of our work, the problems we solved, and the fresh, clean produce that fed so many people. 
 
“Unfortunately, under current circumstances, we could not secure the capital required to continue that work. 
 
“We are deeply grateful to our employees, our retail partners, and the communities that have supported us. We have seen vertical farming’s potential up close, and we still believe that this industry is just getting started, and that we have helped plant the seeds for generations of future harvests.” 

In a story released today, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports 80 Acres was trying to sell itself when the deal abruptly collapsed. 

“On the evening of Aug. 2, the prospective acquirer unexpectedly withdrew from the transaction. Without the anticipated transaction proceeds and with no other funding available to sustain operations, the Company was required to make the immediate decision to wind down its business,” CEO and co-founder Mike Zelking wrote in a letter to Ohio officials explaining the pending shutdown. 

80 Acres raised more than $350 million and a year ago merged with Soli Organic, projecting first-year combined revenues of nearly $200 million. 

This is the latest in a series of closures of high-profile controlled environment agriculture (CEA) or vertical farms in the last few years, including Bowery Farming, Freight Farms, AppHarvest, and Kalera.

Editor’s note: a previous version of this story included CEA companies that have reorganized but remain in business.