80 Acres Farms Shuts Down, 270+ Workers Laid Off in Kentucky and Ohio

NewsData.io · United States · Aug 11, 2026

Indoor vertical farming company 80 Acres Farms is permanently winding down operations after a prospective acquisition collapsed on Aug. 2, triggering WARN Act notices covering 127 workers at its Florence, Kentucky facility and 145 at its Hamilton, Ohio location. The Ohio-based company, which supplied salad kits to more than 17,000 retailers including Kroger and Walmart, cited the failed deal as the immediate cause, leaving it without funding to continue. The closure reflects broader pressures on the agriculture and food sector, including consumer inflation and a major cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to supermarket lettuce. Staffing firms operating in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region may find placement opportunities as these workers enter the job market.