He often sleeps in an RV outside the construction site of its second facility. Again, the private markets get a very bad rap socially. We're one of four companies that are publicly traded that have both of those as a company. Also referred to as blank check companies, the mechanism has existed for several years but has received increased attention of late. AppHarvest is an indoor farming company, so has massive greenhouses Were investing heavily in our future, so were spending heavily today, he said. 95% of a fruit and vegetable is water. I was hoping maybe we could talk a little bit about that idea that you're farmers and futurists. How do you feel about coming public a lot earlier than you probably would've normally? $157M Today's Change (-7.84%) -$0.08 Current Price $0.94 Price as of March 1, 2023, 1:16 p.m. "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. 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.. I think it's clear that investors should really be excited for the future of AgTech. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. His Twitter account is one of the most popular on the social network. 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 We dont have two planets though, so Webb got creative. For the fourth quarter Webb, a former rugby player, has a wealth experience and is now helping players return to the sport they love. Webb is a highly-respected knee surgeon in the United States. You have to get permitting, communities [buy-in], state and federal support, infrastructure, inspections. Then I got to mention the area we're in, Eastern Kentucky has been known for coal mining for decades, it was known as the whole country, so to speak, and empowering the U.S. through the industrial revolution with low-cost coal. 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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. We're in our first decade and we're going to try to look at judging the company on decade one, decade two, and decade three. That's because of our inefficient systems in the supply chain. I pay attention to my kids. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close. Consumers are pushing back. He actively engages with his followers through his various social media accounts, including Instagram and Twitter. We need to all collectively have a much more longer-term viewpoint on how we're building companies that are going to be good for communities, good for employees, and return a good return to our investors and shareholders. Photo credit: US controlled environment agriculture (CEA) startup, has announced a merger with NASDAQ-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), The deal is slated to bring in $475 million in gross proceeds for Kentucky-based AppHarvest, including a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction worth $375 million from existing and new investors including, I cant say this was the exact plan but what accelerated all of this was Covid-19, AppHarvest CEO Jonathan Webb told, . We had 22 meetings and had almost 20 yeses. Very few passed on this deal and we eventually had to cancel meetings., Webb describes the SPAC transaction and PIPE financing experience as absolutely phenomenal.. Theyre looking for purpose in their life; theyre looking for companies like us.. Investors look at that, Peter Halt, AppHarvests newly appointed chief financial officer, told AFN. As I was listening, there was a quote, you said, "We are farmers and futurists." 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've had record amounts of rainfall. We believe controlled environment agriculture is the third wave of sustainable infrastructure. Since then, AppHarvest shares have plunged 70%. Growing up in Appalachia, Jonathan Webb watched the slow decline of the coal industry firsthand. WebJonathan Webb. He has published numerous papers on the topic of knee ligament injuries, arthroscopic surgery, and other techniques. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com. Jonathan Webb poses with celebrity investor Martha Stewart and some of his signature tomatoes. Again, for us, it's about keeping our head down, growing good fruit and vegetables. Growing up in Appalachia, Jonathan Webb watched the slow decline of the coal industry firsthand. This helped the Army reach its goal of 20% renewable energy by 2025. Webb: You said you didn't want to talk the rest of the day about ESG, right? As founder and CEO of AppHarvest, Ive been listening to a podcast called The Future of Farming and Investing, where Jonathan Webb discusses how AppHarvest has built a three-million-square-foot indoor farm, twice as large as Amazons largest distribution center. That lowers transportation costs by 75%, allowing AppHarvest's fresher produce to better compete against low-cost foreign imports. But I dont think thats adding value to the company, or looking out for our shareholders, he said. But then what have we done with Root AI? 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. Webb was raised in a white-bread, wealthy family. Yes, maybe we're paying marginally more in the short-term, but that workforce is the one that's beating production targets daily. It's so cool to think about what you guys are doing there. I would not want to be one of those large operators and food today when you see the consumer trends changing as quickly as they are, and we feel very optimistic again about where our growth trajectory is. All of our water is captured on our roof. But I wanted to ask you before we do, the Root AI acquisition. Putting a retention pond, we filter it with no chemicals and we're able to run our facility. The business combination values AppHarvest at a $1.0 billion pro forma equity value, at the $10.00 per share PIPE price and assuming minimal redemptions by Novus Capital shareholders. Jonathan Webb is a specialist knee surgeon and a former English rugby union fullback. 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. "And we don't think we could do that if we weren't in the public markets.". A specialist in knee surgery, Webb has performed countless surgeries in elite rugby union teams. 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. By us running on completely recycled rainwater, we have no water cost. It hopes to expand into leafy greens, berries, cucumbers, and bell peppers in the future. 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. 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. But I wonder, is there something to your mind? "The public market needs to have a robust category of companies that are building stuff that matters," he stressed. Jonathan has a Bachelors degree from the University of Kentucky in Business. Are you going to have drought? When he says sustainable, he doesnt just mean that in an environmental sense. The greenhouse, completed in 2020, yields up to 30 times the crops a traditional farm would, Webb said. We've had 8,000 people apply to work at the company and we've hired 500 people in the middle of a global pandemic. You've had fast-food chains, that is one of the biggest risk to a grocer is the paranoia and being terrified of where that product is being grown. The system it uses reportedly reduces water usage by 90% compared to traditional open-field agriculture, while also eliminating runoff. His military experience allows him to leverage private capital for his projects. AppHarvest CEO envisions 'couple-decade journey' after going public It feels like this is something that really is just getting some traction here. My competition in Mexico, you have people getting paid $5 a day. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. What's the technology that you are looking toward to help you change this space? Founder of AppHarvest, Inc., AppHarvest Morehead Farm LLC and Webb: Well, we built the company from day one. Announces Separation of Julie Nelson as Chief Operating Officer Nov 16 Price target decreased to US$5.33 Nov 16 See more updates Shareholder Returns See full shareholder returns Return vs Industry: APPH underperformed the US Food industry which returned By locating within Appalachia, the company is also less than a days drive to more than two-thirds of the U.S. population. If we're going to be working with the largest players in the world, then we need to be in the big leagues, and the only way to do that is to be a publicly traded company. I'm sure it was an exciting time. We just want to be one of those and we're cognizant that there's going to be plenty of large players. I think we have seen some other players in the space that are starting. Moser: I guess you're saying, and a lot of us would agree, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Non-planned trade are trades that I hope you enjoy our conversation. On Twitter, the actor shares his personal experiences with his followers. 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. We look forward to providing you with even more cutting-edge market research, as Topio Networks. I think you really keyed in on something important there, a 30-year journey. Here, we've had three years out of the last ten years in Kentucky have been our wettest years on state record. Webb grew up in Kentucky, and founded AppHarvest in 2017 after years in the solar development industry, based in New York. This year alone, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US, collectively raising. Webb is an expert in reconstructive and arthroscopic surgery. If I can sell you a grocer, a product at around the same price, what are we solving for? There's going to be a lot of companies hopefully working to solve our food and agriculture problems. You have illegal chemical pesticides where the EPA cannot track the chemicals being used on these farms in Mexico. But I think there are a lot of benefits that come with that. Then by the end of the year in 2022, we'll have five facilities operating. As part of that, in order to bring trust and transparency to agriculture, you have to be a public company. 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. His vision of the future of farming and much, much more. Moser: Well, you said it on the call. 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. With a 19% stake, CEO Jonathan Webb is the largest shareholder. Jonathan received his bachelors degree from the University of Kentucky. But then it's pulling technology in to drive nature from behind. Webb: To put this in perspective, this was our first facility under operations, our flagship facility. WebJonathan Webb, CEO, AppHarvest: AgTech Farming for Our Planets Future. 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. In the same year, he scored his second try after just 23 seconds. I was very fortunate. In the latter, Webb was the only English player to score in the game. Visualize this, down the rows of our facility, we have a robust that's going to take thousands of photos of a tomato plant. To get started investing, check out our quick-start guide to investing in stocks. Sustainable investor Equilibrium If I were an investor, Id want my CEO on the ground with the team, not just in an office tower, he said. Jonathan Webb is the Founder and CEO of AppHarvest, a company that combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology to address The private markets don't need to be a part of the problem, but we can't just be quarterly earnings focused. 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. 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. Project Access, Inc. was founded by Mr. Webb in 1999. Similarly, she owns yachts and private planes and serves on the board of the Women Golf Club Foundation. I made the point at one point in regard to AppHarvest. You can also follow him on Instagram. 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. Who were the most active food and agriculture technology venture capital firms in 2022. We pay every employee at AppHarvest a living wage. One of AppHarvest's mobile units ready to fight the food fight, outside of AppHarvest's offices in [+] Lexington, Kentucky, If we cant treat people with dignity and respect who put food on our table, where do we think humanity is going to end up? He completed a fellowship in Australia at North Sydney Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Centre and has worked in many high-profile clinics in the area. Its first crop will be non-GMO tomatoes, which will be provided to a number of US grocers. That's our headquarters. You have climate disruption. Jonathan Webb is a dual-qualified lawyer. I did want to know here because I saw this in the earnings release and I just thought it was one of those quotes that stood out to me from Mastronardi, your distributor. Theyre looking at a company and even though its pre-revenue it has all the necessary ingredients to succeed.. He has become a prominent social media star. Just wondering if you could share some of the highlights, some of the things you're proud of in regard to this earnings release, and your excitement here for the year to come. This year alone, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US, collectively raising around $36.2 billion as of last month. I've tried to say, we have a team that looks at this as this is our 30-year journey here at AppHarvest. The regulators are pushing that direction. Linked companies : AppHarvest, Inc. Summary. Here are five relaxing scents you can use in your bedroom. sold to the top 25 U.S. grocers. We're building large facilities to grow fruit and vegetables running completely on recycled rainwater using LED lights, software, and sensors. I mean, that is right in line. We're going to be based in Central Appalachia. Our team is built to scale and you look at where we're at today, we've launched our first facility. But its confident in its approach. in August is launching what it describes as the worlds largest greenhouse later this year, consisting of a 2.76 million square foot facility in Morehead, Kentucky. Founder of AppHarvest, Inc., AppHarvest Morehead Farm LLC and AppHarvest Operations, Inc., Jonathan Webb is an entrepreneur who is Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of AppHarvest, Inc. and Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of AppHarvest Operations, Inc. (a subsidiary of AppHarvest, Inc.). I want to figure out what I can do, as CEO, to ensure everyone has the resources to succeed. Webb: We've been very fortunate that some of our investors and board members, Fidelity was the largest investor in our pipe during the public process, Jeff Ubben of Inclusive Capital, our Chief Sustainability Officer, Jackie Roberts came to us from the Carlyle Group, we're all very serious about this. 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. All Rights Reserved. WebGet Chad Hill's email address (c*****@appharvest.com) and phone number at RocketReach. We've moved most of our fruit and vegetable production down to Mexico and we're importing and shipping in 2,000 miles. Again, tomatoes are our first crop, but by next year, strawberries and leafy greens. How excited are you to bring that Root AI company in their leadership into your family? Moser: Yeah. ET More on the future of agriculture and vertical farming innovator That might sound straight from science fiction, but AppHarvests CTO Josh Lessing, who designed many of these universal harvesting systems says we only think that because farming has been so slow to innovate. 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 Going down, scanning the plant, pest, is there a disease, brightness? What is AppHarvest to you? That to me, was in a nutshell what it's all about. We dont see it as losing money for losing moneys sake; developing that tech is investing in our future.. We're ramping up this first facility in the middle of a global pandemic, we had an ice storm. He played against Australia on 23 May. Learn More. Brooke DiPalma is a producer and reporter for Yahoo Finance. The Art of Self Meditation: What Are the Benefits? Almost every company in the coal industry has gone bankrupt over the last 10 years. 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. Your email address will not be published. WebJonathan Webb - Founder & CEO @ AppHarvest - Crunchbase Person Profile Person Jonathan Webb Overview Number of Founded Organizations 1 CB Rank (Person) 4,704 We can better understand what product we are going to have available? Your email address will not be published. There are many sources of information on Jonathan Webbs networth. After serving as an assistant public defender in Marylands Office of the Public Defender, Webb joined Ethridge Quinn for 2020. According to AppHarvest's earnings report released Feb. 24, the company had net sales of $9.1 million and net loss of of $166.2 million in 2021. But really its water and food first. My background was a part of building some of the largest solar projects in the U.S. David Lee, who joined us from Impossible Foods, joined impossible foods five years ago as their CFO and COO raised them nearly over $1 billion in the last five years and turned them into what was a boutique idea, into a mass-market product on store shelves. Moser: That's exciting. The show also discusses the benefits of Martha Stewart being on their board and how they plan get their products onto shelves. I don't think anybody thinks of farming from this perspective. With significant tailwinds from heightened investor focus on ESG initiatives and the secular shift to plant-based foods, we believe AppHarvest is well-positioned to execute on its strategy for rapid growth and value creation, he continued. AppHarvest, which went public in February in an IPO that brought it $475 million in gross proceeds, is an ambitious venture. One of AppHarvest's Crop Care Specialists operates a tomato-picking robot. "We have the capital we need and we're focused on building and operating, and just head down on execution," Webb said. I'm one of those people growing up I went to public schools here in Kentucky. Her estimated net worth is more than $15 million. The same way there won't be one energy company powering the world. I know that you're not the only one focused on controlled environment agriculture. WebFounder & CEO, AppHarvest Kentucky native and University of Kentucky graduate Jonathan Webb is turning his dream of a high-tech farming hub in Appalachia into reality with AppHarvest. He is an ex-rugby player who represented England from 1987 to 1993, reaching the World Cup Final and winning two Five Nations grand slam titles. The president and CEO, Paul Mastronardi said, "We want every AppHarvest tomato they can grow. You came public a lot sooner or probably that you would have had the opportunity to even 10 years ago. WebThe following charts show the stock performance of securities subsequent to each open-market, non-planned trade made by Jonathan Webb. In 1985, he joined Bristol Rugby and won the John Player Cup. 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. If you look at the grocery and then you go, wait a second. Let's let the consumer of our product also be the buyer in our company. I don't know that we're going to have enough time, but let's just start first and foremost this is one of our most recent recommendations in our service. Since joining HFW in 2004, Mr. Webb has specialized in P&I and FD&D for ship owners. We look at them over the course of time, years, and hopefully, decades we can be a part of that journey with you all. The deal is slated to bring in $475 million in gross proceeds for Kentucky-based AppHarvest, including a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction It's about getting the industry to turn the corner at scale globally," Webb said. Webb supported a large-scale solar project in Virginia while he was employed by the U.S. Department of Defense. I think they certainly will be. We've just been selling product for a matter of months. We're ramping up and scaling quickly. WebGet Givens McNeill's email address (g*****@windstream.net) and phone number (972988.) at RocketReach. Of course, the future is what really matters. We'll head down here and then I would start or I would end with what I started with. Although his net worth is impressive, its important that you remember that he doesnt have to act alone to be wealthy. This is becoming really a hot-button topic for a lot of investors, rightly so. WebJonathan Webb grew up in Kentucky and has been committed to developing sustainable projects from Central Appalachia. Also referred to as blank check companies, the mechanism has existed for several years but has received increased attention of late. We dont talk about this at all in the US. But if we do the work to center the people who benefit from that technology in the middle of the conversation, then progress doesnt have to be a bad thing. 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. I encourage anyone to go out there Google Root AI and go check out the videos of what some of this stuff does. In order to do that, you have to have rigor. 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. Director recently sold US$216k worth of stock Nov 24 AppHarvest, Inc. 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. 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. That narrow focus on societal good is what has kept AppHarvest fully staffed throughout the pandemic. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Jonathan about the growing opportunity in the AgTech space. 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. These food companies today are like the cigarette companies 40 years ago. Jonathan Webb was born on 24 August 1963, in London, England. We can also do it by returning investors to our shareholders. Webb started his professional career in 1989 as a Durban maritime lawyer firm. I want to know what the problems are from them, not just our executive team. He also has experience in civil litigation and Title IX proceedings. There won't be one automotive company transporting the world. ESG should be at the core of profitability and it should be at the core of building a resilient company. It's therefore worth looking at AppHarvest's earnings history below. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn. Karrie, on the other hand, has not disclosed her salary or income. It's a nice evolution in the investing world that we care more and more about it. I'm Jason Moser, thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week. Do the hard work to create shareholder value now while also looking out for shareholders two decades from now, Webb said is his credo. CSC Leasing: Non-dilutive Funding for AgTech Startups, Americas Cultivation Corridor: We Grow AgTech Innovation, As demand for protein grows Sustainable Planet bets on water lentils as a viable alternative to soya, How not to fail in vertical farming: Be on guard for hubris, say Indoor Ag-Con speakers, International Fresh Produce Association launches 2023 Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator program, BREAKING: Perfect Day animal-free dairy patent in US challenged, What is the role of biotech in an ethical food system? After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*. The other thing is scale. 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. Again to some of your viewers that aren't aware of Root AI just look them up and take a look at some of those videos. Originally from Kentucky, Webb is dedicated to sustainable projects in Central Appalachia. By being able to have robotics and AI they can have more real-time information. I write about the future of food, business, and culture. But in order to prove to our investors and prove to our shareholders and broader stakeholders, for us, it's about meeting our targets, and I've tried to say AppHarvest, we're in the business of delivering on our promises. AppHarvest has invested in a 2.76million-square-foot greenhouse in Morehead (Ky.) to help meet this goal.
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