HAMILTON, Ohio—In a surprising move, 80 Acres Farm announced on Aug. 3 that they were closing. The vertical farm, which opened in its Hamilton location in 2020, produced salad kits, blends, microgreens and more.

80 Acres was founded in Cincinnati in 2015 by Mike Zelkind and Tisha Livingston, veteran food industry executives. They purchased a downtown Hamilton building in 2017, and announced the relocation of its headquarters to High Street in 2019. 

They opened a newly constructed $30 million, 70,000 square foot processing facility in 2021. They grew the products in clean soil replacements (because a lot of soil is contaminated), peat mixtures, and other soils.

“It is all hydroponic,” Zelkind said. “The soil replacement supplies nutrients in a mix with water, and we recycle it in the system. We have a completely closed-loop system. We recirculate the air, everything. These plants are grown in shipping containers. We also have much bigger grow-zones.”

The company was in the midst of negotiations with a potential buyer, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. However, that did not work out.

Zelkind issued this statement when he announced the closing:

“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.

The city of Hamilton said that while officials there are disappointed by the announcement, “we recognize the challenges facing the vertical farming industry.”

“We are grateful for the partnership and commitment that Mike Zelkind and Tisha Livingston have shown to our community, and we appreciate the positive impact they have made during their time in Hamilton,” the city said in a statement. “We wish them and the entire team the very best as they navigate this transition and look forward to opportunities to work together again in the future