Coal to apples. Kentucky’s Jim Booth reimagines former mine as an apple orchard.

A high-profile former coal operator began planting 120,000 apple trees this week on a former surface mine in Martin County.

AppleAtcha AgriTech KY is led by Jim Booth, who exited the coal industry in 2019 when his company Cambrian Coal declared bankruptcy.

This week, AppleAtcha began planting its first trees on reclaimed coal mine land in Debord, near the airport and federal prison.

AppleAtcha is the latest example of Eastern Kentucky’s growing agritech industry. This week, mega-greenhouse company AppHarvest announced it will build a greenhouse growing strawberries in Somerset and a second greenhouse in Morehead that will produce leafy greens.

At an AppleAtcha ribbon-cutting event Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear said Kentucky is positioning itself to be an agritech capital of the world while providing jobs and food in an environmentally sustainable way.

“We have an obligation to leave this Earth — both the Earth itself and for our kids — better than we inherited,” Beshear said. “Today, I think we’re seeing this behind you is going to be the most sophisticated apple-growing operation anywhere in Kentucky, and it’s right here in your backyard.”

Rocky Adkins, the Democratic governor’s senior adviser, said the concept of AppleAtcha is “exactly the type of new economy that we’re looking for.”

“It infuriates me to see a deep population of our region that has to move to find a job to put food on the table and a roof over their head,” Adkins said. “I think today it is time. Now is the time, now is the day to build that new economy for the future.”

Booth, a staunch Republican, has employed thousands of Eastern Kentuckians over the years through his coal operations and through his other businesses in and around Inez, including a coffee shop, auto shop and cemetery.

Adkins called Booth a visionary and said his commitment to Eastern Kentuckians is extraordinary.

A 2019 Herald-Leader report found Booth owed $2.3 million in overdue taxes to Martin County, which has for years struggled with high rates of poverty and a failing water system infrastructure.

The Cabinet of Economic Development did not award any incentives for the apple orchard project, according to the governor’s office.

Joe LoConti, cofounder of AppleAtcha, worked with Booth in the coal industry, holding the bonds required for reclamation after mining. He said he hopes this first apple tree planting will be the start of a reimagination of the Booth Energy property and of the community. He sees AppleAtcha as the Napa Valley for apples in Martin County.

Ryan Wilson, the project manager and Booth’s son-in-law, spoke about the difficulty of planting apple trees on land that once produced tons of coals. Since January, the founders have worked to remove large rocks and protect the property from bears, elk and deer. The team brought in Bruce Rasch, who has an apple orchard operation in Michigan, and a soil scientist to ensure the ground can sustain the apple operation.

Rasch said at his 800-acre orchard he employs 350 people at harvest. There was no mention of the number of jobs AppleAtcha would provide.

“More than that, we’re feeding God’s children, and we all have our part to do what we can to make this world a better place,” he said.

Beshear said AppleAtcha and other agritech companies will help provide a solution to food insecurity in Kentucky, where one in five children go hungry, and increase the amount of food grown to keep up with the world’s population.

Booth also plans to assist apple growers in the region by buying their apples to sell through AppleAtcha.