The vertical farming company that converted a vacant Florence printing plant into a high-tech indoor farm is done. 80 Acres Farms ceased all operations on Aug. 3, leaving its 7455 Empire Drive facility dark and raising questions about $140 million in public bonds Boone County issued to finance the company's expansion.
CEO Mike Zelkind announced the shutdown in a statement, saying the company exhausted its capital after failing to secure new funding.
"Unfortunately, under current circumstances, we could not secure the capital required to continue that work," Zelkind said.
The closure affects all 80 Acres indoor facilities and subsidiaries, including a second growing operation in Hamilton, Ohio. The company had supplied produce to more than 18,000 retail locations nationwide, including Kroger stores, according to AgFunderNews.
$140 million in bonds, no county liability — on paper
The Boone County Fiscal Court voted 4-0 on Sept. 3, 2024, to issue up to $140 million in taxable industrial building revenue bonds for the expansion, structured through an entity called Trellis Loop Florence I, LLC. County Administrator Matthew Webster told the Fiscal Court at that meeting that the resolution creates no liability to the county and that 80 Acres was expected to meet a target of 35 permanent positions.
Bond counsel Jim Parsons of Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL made the same point at a March 5, 2024, hearing, telling commissioners the bonds "are not the debt of the county, simply a real estate tax benefit."
The taxable industrial building revenue bonds are a conduit financing tool, meaning the county acts as issuer but bears no direct repayment obligation. Boone County has used the same structure for other major employers including Kroger and FedEx Ground. The Fiscal Court also approved a PILOT agreement requiring 80 Acres to pay 100% of taxes at the 2023 rate and 60% of the enhanced valuation after expansion, [according to Fiscal Court minutes](https://www.boonecountyky.org/Documents/Government/Boone County Fiscal Court/Fiscal Court Meeting Minutes/2024/March 5, 2024 Minutes.pdf).
On Nov. 19, 2024, the Fiscal Court amended the bond resolution to correct the term from 20 years to 30 years.
Judge/Executive Gary Moore presided over the bond votes. No statement from Moore or other county officials responding to the closure has been published.
$95 million conversion preceded bond deal
80 Acres originally invested $95 million to convert the vacant Hennigan Company printing facility on Empire Drive into a state-of-the-art indoor farm roughly two years before the 2024 bond vote, LINK nky reported. Founded in 2015, the company raised more than $350 million in private capital over its lifetime from investors including General Atlantic and Siemens Financial Services, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.
In 2025, 80 Acres merged with Soli Organic to form what the companies called "one of the world's largest and most advanced indoor farming networks." That combined entity has also ceased operations.
The collapse follows a wave of vertical farming failures since 2022, including Plenty, InFarm, and Bowery.
What's next
It remains unclear what happens to the 7455 Empire Drive property, the outstanding bond obligations, or the PILOT agreement now that 80 Acres has shut down. The actual number of workers displaced by the closure has not been reported.
No county hearing or public meeting on the matter has been announced.
