# Mike Zelkind

> Mike Zelkind is a Cincinnati-area food-industry executive and electrical engineer who co-founded 80 Acres Farms with Tisha Livingston in 2015. After decades in operations and turnarounds at General Mills, ConAgra, Bumble Bee, AdvancePierre and Sager Creek, he applied a factory operator's discipline to indoor agriculture. The company grew from experiments in a shipping container to a national network serving thousands of stores, but announced in August 2026 that it was winding down after a proposed acquisition fell through and fresh capital could not be secured.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO of 80 Acres Farms during its 2026 wind-down
- **Organizations:** 80 Acres Farms, Infinite Acres, Unreasonable, Cintrifuse, Sager Creek Vegetable Company, AdvancePierre Foods, Bumble Bee Foods, ConAgra Foods, 99 Cents Only Stores, A.T. Kearney, General Mills
- **Education:** Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, University of Minnesota, MBA; John Robson Scholar and 1996 Evening MBA Leadership Award, Emory University - Goizueta Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded 80 Acres Farms and helped take it from a shipping-container experiment to a multi-state indoor-farm network., Built a career of more than 25 years in food manufacturing, supply chain, operations and business turnarounds., Graduated first in his Emory MBA class and received the John Robson Scholar recognition and 1996 Evening MBA Leadership Award.

## Career timeline

- **c. 1978** — At age 12, immigrated with his family from Russia to St. Paul, Minnesota; he delivered four paper routes while his parents studied English at night.
- **1990** — Earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
- **1991-1996** — Held engineering and plant-supervision roles at General Mills while completing his MBA.
- **1996** — Graduated first in his Emory MBA class and received the John Robson Scholar recognition and Evening MBA Leadership Award.
- **1996-1999** — Worked as a management consultant at A.T. Kearney, beginning a long focus on food-business operations and turnarounds.
- **2001-2013** — Held senior operations and supply-chain roles at ConAgra Foods, 99 Cents Only Stores, Bumble Bee Foods and AdvancePierre Foods.
- **2014-2015** — Served first as president and COO, then president and CEO, of Sager Creek Vegetable Company.
- **2015** — Co-founded 80 Acres Farms with Tisha Livingston after their work in food processing and conversations with farmers about uncontrollable growing conditions.
- **2018** — Delivered a TEDxCincinnati talk, 'Food (R)Evolution - How Vertical Farming Will Help Feed the World.'
- **2019** — Helped launch Infinite Acres with Priva and Ocado to develop and scale indoor-farming technology.
- **2021** — Opened a highly automated Hamilton, Ohio farm and raised a $160 million Series B.
- **2024** — Named among Goldman Sachs' Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2024.
- **2025** — 80 Acres acquired three former Kalera farms in Georgia, Texas and Colorado and expanded its national footprint.
- **2026** — After operating seven farms and serving more than 18,000 retail locations, 80 Acres Farms announced a wind-down when a proposed acquisition collapsed and additional capital was unavailable.

## Achievements

- Co-founded 80 Acres Farms and helped take it from a shipping-container experiment to a multi-state indoor-farm network.
- Built a career of more than 25 years in food manufacturing, supply chain, operations and business turnarounds.
- Graduated first in his Emory MBA class and received the John Robson Scholar recognition and 1996 Evening MBA Leadership Award.
- Reportedly helped private-equity-backed businesses create more than $3 billion in shareholder value before founding 80 Acres Farms.
- Led 80 Acres Farms through a $160 million Series B in 2021 and later national expansion.
- Named one of Goldman Sachs' Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2024.
- Participated in three Unreasonable programs, including Unreasonable Food 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — 80 Acres Farms announced it was winding down operations after a prospective acquirer withdrew and the company could not secure the capital needed to continue.
- **2026-06** — Zelkind appeared in an Iowa PBS Market to Market report describing seven farms, more than one million square feet of cultivation and service to over 18,000 retail locations.
- **2026-02** — Published an Agri-Pulse opinion article advocating tax incentives for innovative farming technologies.
- **2025-03** — 80 Acres Farms acquired three former Kalera indoor farms and related intellectual property in Georgia, Texas and Colorado.
- **2024-10** — Goldman Sachs recognized Zelkind as one of its Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2024.

## Links

- Website: https://80acresfarms.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-zelkind-5113624
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/80acresfarms
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@80acresfarms
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/80AcresFarms/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/80AcresFarms/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@80acresfarms

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mike-zelkind
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-26