Iron Ox breaks ground in Lockhart

When you hear the phrase “robotics and AI-enabled farming,” it may make you picture a society of robots akin to that described in the pages of one of Isaac Asimov’s later novels, but Brandon Alexander can assure you this isn’t what’s happening.
Alexander, the CEO and co-founder of Iron Ox, a California-based company that aims to solve food insecurity with the help of robotic farming, was in Lockhart on Tuesday to commemorate the official groundbreaking of his company’s newest indoor farm and said with certainty that people figured into his plans.
Alexander said it will take more than 100 people to open and run the new hydroponic farm at 1205 Reed Drive (across from the Caldwell County show barn), which will eventually contain 535,000 square feet of indoor space.
“From the town’s perspective, it’s a lot of ag jobs,” said Alexander before the official festivities got underway. “We’re (going to be) one of the No. 1 ag employers in the area, to be honest. Yeah, we use AI, we use robotics, but we use a lot of people.
“People we have talked to are not just about the job creation, but the local fresh produce. A lot of what we have here comes from California and Mexico. This will be Lockhart grown and Lockhart sold.”

Read more in this week’s Lockhart Post-Register.