When we set out to build the first high-tech commercial production greenhouse in Kentucky, we had a pretty simple idea: to grow fresh, healthy produce that people could enjoy all year round with the comfort of knowing exactly where it came from. Ever since, we’ve been humbled and inspired by the resilience, ingenuity, and spirit of the community we call home.

To the outside observer, Stanford might seem like any other sleepy town in rural America. And, as one might imagine, Stanford is exactly the kind of place where neighbors and friends come together in Rockwellian scenes to share gossip, cheer on the local team, and support one another in hard times. It’s been this way for over a century - a community built on individual freedom and shared responsibility.

When the recession struck in 2008, and families were suddenly faced with the prospect of little or no employment, the people of this community came together to support one another in any way they could. Faced with an uncertain future, many who had left Lincoln County came back to find their hometown had been rocked just as hard, if not harder, by the crisis. Soybeans, tobacco and beef had been the backbone of the County’s economy for over a century and, when factories and mines were shutting down across the state, the people of Stanford knew they had to return to their roots.

That’s because, when times get tough, these folks don’t look for for a handout or for someone to blame - they get to work. This resilience, this indomitable spirit, is what makes Stanford unique and it’s exactly why we decided to build the Future of Farming here in Lincoln County.

In 2016, we made a promise to the people of Stanford – to bring 21st century agricultural technology to bear in their fight to ensure a future for their hometown, and build a farm so advanced that it could inspire many more people to change their own neck of the woods in a positive way.

Along the way we faced naysayers, broke barriers, and quickly learned that - to keep this promise - we had to innovate. We fought, we won, and we lost too many times to count, but along the way we surrounded ourselves with people whose dedication and expertise remained a guiding light through it all.

The Future of Farming is more than a slogan - it’s our vision for a healthier, more sustainable and equitable world. A world in which access to fresh, nutritious food is no longer a luxury afforded only to a lucky few, where we can feed a growing population without harming the environment, and one in which the communities who grow our food are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. The seeds for this vision weren’t sown on rooftops and they weren’t grown in a lab - they were planted here, in a rural American town long before we came.

That’s why every fruit we grow here at Kentucky Fresh Harvest is marked with a small, but impactful statement: “grown and packed in Stanford, KY”. To us, it’s not just a mark for compliance, it’s a promise kept to the people of Stanford who’ve welcomed us as neighbors and brought us once step closer to our vision for the Future of Farming.

The Future of Farming is local. The Future of Farming is rural. And, thanks to the support of our community and those that came before us, the Future of Farming is

HEre.

William K. Back
Chief Executive Officer