It hopes to expand into leafy greens, berries, cucumbers, and bell peppers in the future. Webb is from Kentucky, where 16% of residents are We just want to be one of those and we're cognizant that there's going to be plenty of large players. By being able to have robotics and AI they can have more real-time information. The same way there won't be one energy company powering the world. Vance, and politicians of both parties, Jonathan left Washington and came home to Kentucky, where he now works tirelessly to make the eastern part of the state the AgTech capital of America. Then we have to remember this isn't just a U.S. problem we're trying to solve. That greenhouse is just the proof of conceptAppHarvest has broken ground on two more that will be just as impressive. Jason Moser has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. What makes AppHarvest so unique? I was really excited to be able to recommend it after all of the work I had done on the business, learning more about it, listening to you in your passion regarding this company, I think it would be beneficial for our members, for our listeners to hear it from your own words as the founder, as the CEO of AppHarvest. The Art of Self Meditation: What Are the Benefits? It's therefore worth looking at AppHarvest's earnings history below. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. Also referred to as blank check companies, the mechanism has existed for several years but has received increased attention of late. This company has plans to open two additional indoor farms in Kentucky and has already announced partnerships with the Dutch government and multiple universities to make Appalachia a hub for the agtech industry. I have a 16 and then going on 15-year-old daughters. They have 10% of the world's freshwater. Below, we look at some of his most popular tweets. Consumers are pushing back. Yes, today, we met our quarterly earnings projection, we hit our guidance, but we're making the hard investments and spending the hard time to set an organization up that's going to thrive 10 and 20 years from now. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. At one point, we were thinking of putting up a billboard in front of several large tech company offices saying, Come build tech that matters, Webb said. AppHarvest is recovering from a challenging third quarter, in which it reported a net loss of over $17 million; Webb attributes it to hyper-growth. This is still a very new space though. The SPAC opportunity, let you, I think, become a publicly traded company maybe sooner than you really felt like you needed to. If people remember that ice storm back in February, our facility operated, ramping up into full capacity with no issues in the middle of a global pandemic and the middle of an ice storm. But if you look at the world, China and India account for 40% of the world's population. That's how quickly the energy industry shifted. You have to judge yourself internally. AppHarvest CEO envisions 'couple-decade journey' after going public These food companies today are like the cigarette companies 40 years ago. WebAppHarvest salary income and net worth data provided by People Ai provides an estimation for any internet celebrity's real salary income and net worth like AppHarvest based on real Again, the private markets get a very bad rap socially. could be sentient says Microsofts chatbot feels like watching the Shark Tank investor Kevin OLeary says a new generation of employee has never worked in an officeand its totally I cant afford to sell because I dont want to lose that rate: 3% mortgage rates will loom large over the U.S. CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. There's not going to be one food company feeding the world. If I were an investor, Id want my CEO on the ground with the team, not just in an office tower, he said. "We see this as a couple-decade journey, and really, we're in our first decade," Webb told Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman at the 2022 SXSW Conference (video above). AppHarvest is recovering from a challenging third quarter, in which it reported a net loss of over $17 million; Webb attributes it to hyper-growth. Dr. Webb graduated at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. AppHarvest. If I can sell you a grocer, a product at around the same price, what are we solving for? In the same year, he scored his second try after just 23 seconds. Moser: I guess you're saying, and a lot of us would agree, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Public asset : 44,698,475 USD. Very excited about the Root AI transaction. We need to change the profits versus purpose narrative; purpose drives profit and, ultimately, is what makes an organization durable and resilient for decades to come, Webb told Fortune. Project Access, Inc. was founded by Mr. Webb in 1999. WebGet Chad Hill's email address (c*****@appharvest.com) and phone number at RocketReach. Again, if you look at the U.S. right now, this is a USDA statistic, nearly 40% of fresh fruit and vegetables end up in a landfill. We are about to plant our first crop in a 60-acre, controlled environment, chemical-free farm. He holds a legal degree from the University of Natal as well as the University of Cape Town. Jonathan Webb poses in front of his giant greenhouse, When you look at human civilization, what do you need? I fundamentally do not think its a tradeoff. Why? The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We're building large facilities to grow fruit and vegetables running completely on recycled rainwater using LED lights, software, and sensors. But for us, it's not a back-and-forth, it's not OK, well, I'm going to invest in an ESG company and I'm going to sacrifice profitability. The show also discusses the benefits of Martha Stewart being on their board and how they plan get their products onto shelves. But its confident in its approach. How excited are you to bring that Root AI company in their leadership into your family? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. I've tried to say, we have a team that looks at this as this is our 30-year journey here at AppHarvest. He actively engages with his followers through his various social media accounts, including Instagram and Twitter. ESG should be at the core of profitability and it should be at the core of building a resilient company. But the production we've left in the US is being grown in areas that are running out of water. Let's prove to the world what we're doing through results and even that, our first quarterly earnings call today, there's a level of rigor that you're acquired through the public markets. He noted that in traditional agriculture, most everything happens incrementally, But now is not a time for incrementalism the thing that needs to be added to that recipe is folks [like Webb] that want to be aggressive in getting us ready for a world where its hard to grow crops.. Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services. They can be competitive. Part of it is we're building companies not just for today and not just for the quarterly earnings call today, we're building this company for the next generation. But I wanted to ask you before we do, the Root AI acquisition. I feel like with AppHarvest, at least, my takeaway, I found a lot of things that make you all special. The applied technology company is developing and operating some of the worlds largest high-tech indoor farms. Jonathan Webb's Appharvest shares are currently valued at $20.96M. Most people every day are just concerned about can they put food on the table? You came public a lot sooner or probably that you would have had the opportunity to even 10 years ago. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close. When people and robots work together, its actually more productive than robots alone or people alone. On a traditional farm, there are a seemingly infinite number of tasks to do at any given moment, so adding some computers to make it more efficient doesnt mean that human farmers will be anywhere near obsolete any time soon. What's your competitive advantages or something you feel differentiates you from your competition? A universal harvester robot at AppHarvest's Morehead, Kentucky greenhouse, AppHarvests crops are monitored for quality control 24/7 and harvested robotically, a labor-saving advancement that lets the staff treat farming almost like a manufacturing process. Well, I mean speaking of a publicly traded company, you just released your first-quarter results, and I think this was your first full quarter as a publicly traded company. Same platform but with new and improved features. All rights reserved. The greenhouse, completed in 2020, yields up to 30 times the crops a traditional farm would, Webb said. Webb is a highly-respected knee surgeon in the United States. When he says sustainable, he doesnt just mean that in an environmental sense. That's, for us, again, there's a piece where we need to be very close to the product and that's we're optimizing for the plant. 10 stocks we like better thanWalmartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have an investing tip, it can pay to listen. I was hoping maybe we could talk a little bit about that idea that you're farmers and futurists. All Rights Reserved. It made good logistical sense since Kentucky is within a days drive of 70% of the United States, plus there was an untapped labor force there ready and waiting to be hired. But being true to our ESG values, we think it is a competitive advantage and going to make us more competitive in the years to come. St John Greek Orthodox Church Easter Schedule, 7 Residential Solar Maintenance Errors and How to Avoid Them, 4 Errors with Kitchen Renovations and How to Avoid Them, An Informative Guide to Livestock Transportation, A Tool That You Need If You are Into Live Stream. In the 1987 Rugby World Cup, Webb made his debut for England. Moser: Yeah, I'd tell you, I think you're right. Are we perfect? No one else in America is doing something at that scale. Location: Pikeville, KY. Add to My Lists. In addition to his numerous social media fans, Jonathan Webb has also embraced a low-key approach to his career. We love DC, but we don't want to just be selling to the high-end restaurants in DC. Part of it is that building big stuff fast in the US is very hard. He has over 100 civil and criminal jury trials and has represented clients in counties across Georgia. Similarly, she owns yachts and private planes and serves on the board of the Women Golf Club Foundation. The agriculture-tech startup raised $250,000 in its first round of seed capital in February 2018, AppHarvest CEO and founder Jonathan Webb told Insider. Also referred to as blank check companies, the mechanism has existed for several years but has received increased attention of late. Talk a little bit about what ESG means to you and some of the things that you've done, because corporately you set your business up to be able to account for some of that transparency and whatnot. Webb, a Kentucky native and University of Kentucky graduate, says he remains committed to his goal of employing large numbers of people at high-tech farms around the eastern half of the state. By the end of next year, we'll have five operating facilities. Webb doesnt mince words on the specifics; the most valued companies in 100 years, he said, will be the ones that allow humanity to survive. He names a few: electronic vehicle manufacturers, renewable energy companies. Most countries in the Middle East import nearly all of their fruit and vegetables. Why locate in Appalachia? Then we'll be able to give that data over to the grocer in more real-time. We're focused on bringing that production back from Mexico that has been shifted outside of the U.S. and bring that back into the U.S. in a controlled environment. Later, in 1993, he relocated to the United Kingdom, where he completed his LLM. The other thing is scale. "For us, at AppHarvest, this isn't just about a company. I don't want to keep you all day, but before we wrap it up, I did want to talk to you a little bit about ESG, environmental sustainability governance issues. Webb grew up in Kentucky, and founded AppHarvest in 2017 after years in the solar development industry, based in New York. The companys first greenhouse will span 60 acres and open in 2020 in Morehead, Ky.The greenhouse will operate entirely on rainwater using a 10-acre retention pond, reducing water usage by 80% compared to a typical farm. We want to make sure you get the most out of our platform. Jonathan has a Bachelors degree from the University of Kentucky in Business. Karrie, on the other hand, has not disclosed her salary or income. WebJonathan Webb. Jonathan, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to see just more about AppHarvest to talk about all the stuff that you're trying to accomplish there. Again, for their CEO, for their team to say to them not just about money, we can have more impact at scale with AppHarvest and achieve our mission and achieve our goals by working together. But one thing we'd like to talk about is competitive advantage, what makes a company special? A SPAC is formed with the sole purpose of raising capital through an IPO in order to acquire an existing privately-held company and take it public. He was born into a medical family. Youre reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fools Premium Investing Services. No, weve made some mistakes. "In less than We can better understand what product we are going to have available? I'm really excited to have you all as a recommendation in our service and hopefully, our members are too after talking with you today. We're going to be based in Central Appalachia. Moser: That's exciting. "For us, being transparent with not only the consumer, but having that transparency of a public company as we build a large global food company, we think the long-term benefits are great.". Since then, AppHarvest shares have plunged 70%. That world will look pretty different from the one we live in now, but Lessing assured me that even as AI gets firmly integrated into agriculture, AppHarvests robots are, fundamentally collaborative. We have one farm right now thats 2.8 million square feet. It's so cool to think about what you guys are doing there. We're in that classic scenario of demand exceeding supply. One of AppHarvest's Crop Care Specialists operates a tomato-picking robot. Because our services are focused on technology, 5G connectivity, and all of the different benefits we're going to get from that. Here, we've had three years out of the last ten years in Kentucky have been our wettest years on state record. Prior to founding AppHarvest, Jonathan supported the Executive Director of the Army Office of Energy Initiatives to help meet the White House goal of supplying 20% of the Department of Defenses electricity usage from renewable Sometimes, it can even get us a few steps closer to saving he world. 20years ago it was renewable energy. His grandmother grew up in Whitley County, where a coal mining accident killed his great-grandfather. We want to be at Kroger. But really its water and food first. He pointed out that, At NASA in the 60s, if you would go visit a facility and you walked up to a janitor and asked, What do you do here? they would say, Im working to put a man on the moon. Thats been the same mentality here Its the collective thats making this thing possible.. You can also follow him on Instagram. Moser: Yeah, absolutely. Founder of AppHarvest, Inc., AppHarvest Morehead Farm LLC and It is a non-profit organization that provides education and social services to low-income residents living in low-income apartments. Despite the off quarter, Webb has much to celebrate. CEOs can get lazy and only worry about the last 90 days; thats easy. Other AppHarvest investors include TV cook Martha Stewart, VC veteran Peter Thiel, We are about to plant our first crop in a 60-acre, controlled environment, chemical-free farm. Were investing heavily Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman at the 2022 SXSW Conference, 3 big things in investing you might have missed this week, UPDATE 1-North Korea says US causing international arms control collapse, EU releases funds, prepares aid flight for eastern Congo, Rheinmetall in talks on building tank factory in Ukraine - report, Ukraine Latest: Metsola Urges More Sanctions Pressure on Russia. Amid the verdant rolling hills of central Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachian coal country, youll The project aimed to help achieve an Obama-era goal of ensuring the militarys hundreds of installations develop resilient on-site power generation and receive 20% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025. WebJonathan Webb, CEO, AppHarvest: AgTech Farming for Our Planets Future. In its Nov. 7 filing, AppHarvest reported net losses of $83 million for the first nine months of the year and net sales of $10 million, with an accumulated deficit of $270 million. WebJonathan Webb. Jonathan Webb, a Maryland attorney, has experience in criminal defense and DUI/DWI defense. Never miss a story: Follow your favorite topics and authors to get a personalized email with the journalism that matters most to you. It's the workforce that we're going to use to grow the organization. When is it going to be able to ship? Yes, maybe we're paying marginally more in the short-term, but that workforce is the one that's beating production targets daily. Webb started his professional career in 1989 as a Durban maritime lawyer firm. Webb was also the first LPGA player to win $1 million in a single season, finishing first on the year-end money list. Webb founded AppHarvest in 2017, and the company was certified as a B Corp two years later. I know that you're not the only one focused on controlled environment agriculture. Its service leadership; our team does not work for me, I work for our team., To that effect, hes imparted a lesson to each of his team members: Every day, help five people. It's a nice evolution in the investing world that we care more and more about it. We've been very fortunate and humbled that the Root AI team is fully a part of the AppHarvest team building robotics that's operating on AI, collecting data. Earlier this year we did get listed on the Nasdaq. As I was listening, there was a quote, you said, "We are farmers and futurists." He also has experience in civil litigation and Title IX proceedings. Thank you for accessing our content on the Topio Networks Market Intelligence Center. You said that we're a technology company working to disrupt agriculture. We're really in the business of packaging up water and then shipping that out to major markets and then beyond that execution at scale. Were investing heavily in our future, so were spending heavily today, he said. Jonathan Webb is an actor with a large following on Twitter. But the futuristic pieces, we've combined a technology team with a great plant science group. We're investing in our workforce. Offers may be subject to change without notice. According to Webb, going public has helped the company focus on the big picture. WebInside is a tightly controlled environment that uses 90% less water than open-field agriculture and only rainwater to produce crop yields up to 30 times that of traditional Theyre looking at a company and even though its pre-revenue it has all the necessary ingredients to succeed.. But with that said, what we have at AppHarvest is fairly unique. The method of farming uses technology like artificial intelligence and robotics to grow fruits and vegetables, producing 30 times the yield of traditional farming while using 90% less water, the company claims. His fund's based in DC, we had them as early investors. We've had one of our wettest decades on state record. Terms & Conditions. Because it is cutting-edge technology. Webb: We could not be more excited. We always talk about investing for the future because that's really what investing is all about. ", As a CEO, Webb admitted that this focus on the long-term outlook has not been easy to prove to Wall Street, especially when compared to those who are "selling a worthless product that's not good for people and not good for planet and arguably questionable for shareholders. We'll talk a little bit about your quarterly results here in a minute because I want to get into that, but one of the things that stood out to me in the earnings call. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. I mean, I think that kind of speaks for itself. For example, we use integrated pest management, good pest to kill bad pest. We're feeding our country with people in Mexico who are making $5 a day. "And we don't think we could do that if we weren't in the public markets.". It means being a little bit more upfront with your investors. To access all the content for free, please sign up by entering your email. I'd tell you, we go through tomatoes, handover, [] in my house alone, I'm sure. The greenhouse will cost $97 million and span 60 acres. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice| Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information| Ad Choices Jason Moser: It's Wednesday, May 26th, I'm your host, Jason Moser, and we've got a terrific interview to share with you on this week's Wildcard Wednesday show. A former England international, he reached the World Cup Final in 1991 and was a two-time grand slam champion in the Five Nations. In the back of his mind, he wondered what he could do to help. Theyre designed to be safe around people. I graduated from the University of Kentucky. To get started investing, check out our quick-start guide to investing in stocks. We can have all the technological tools in the world, but at the end of the day we have to put people at the center of the equation.. "You look at renewable energy 20 years ago, electric vehicles 10 years ago, if we want to get CEA to be institutional at scale, not only in households with consumers, you really need that rigor of the public markets and that attention of the public markets to help institutionalize an industry," he said. Most of those employees were hired in the midst of 2020, something that Webb considers a testament to the trust his community has placed in AppHarvest. My answer to that is always; sustainability is profitability. Webb made a second appearance for England, and reached the final. Moser: Yeah. The actor regularly posts photos and videos of himself, as well as engaging with his fans. We can get to 70% of the U.S. in a one-day drive. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn. He also received his medical license from Minnesota. "We have the capital we need and we're focused on building and operating, and just head down on execution," Webb said. He has published numerous papers on the topic of knee ligament injuries, arthroscopic surgery, and other techniques. After serving as an assistant public defender in Marylands Office of the Public Defender, Webb joined Ethridge Quinn for 2020. Jonathan Webb is the Founder and CEO of AppHarvest, a company that combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology to address key issues including improving access for all to nutritious food, farming more sustainably, building a homegrown foods supply, and more. I watch them, I watch their friends, the things that they care about. Her estimated net worth is more than $15 million. US controlled environment agriculture (CEA) startup AppHarvest has announced a merger with NASDAQ-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Novus Capital, enabling it to go public. We're building infrastructure in an area of the country where we're having record amounts of rainfall, and if you look at the climate maps, we continue to get wetter.