Held May 22-24, 2019 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, the 7th annual Indoor Ag-Con line-up of keynotes, sessions, panel discussions and exhibits attracted growers, academics and other industry members from throughout the US, Canada and several other foreign countries.
"As the first edition under our management we were very pleased with the attendance and the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received from the industry,” said Nancy Hallberg, who, along with other event industry veterans Brian Sullivan and Kris Sieradzki, acquired Indoor Ag-Con LLC from founder Newbean Capital in December 2018. “From growers to suppliers, attendees from every sector of the indoor industry have been so generous with their input and ideas. We will use it all to continue growing this event to ensure that it delivers the best possible educational, networking and business-building experience.”
Indoor Ag-Con Keynote Kick-Off With Irving Fain, Bowery;
Indoor Ag-Con kicked off its comprehensive educational conference with a keynote from Irving Fain of Bowery. Other keynotes included Brad McNamara, Freight Farms and Viraj Puri, Gotham Greens. Breakout sessions spanned across four tracks : Grow Equipment, Crop Selection, Customers & The Supply Chain, Business, and Policy |Societal Impact. In addition, a series of panel discussions on a range of topics, including Seed Breeding, Women in Ag and the Cannabis Genetics Landscape, rounded out the offerings.
“We built our conference sessions around the show’s theme, ‘Growing The Future,’” added Jim Pantaleo, Conference Chairman, Indoor Ag-Con.
Keynote speaker Brad McNamara, Freight Farms
“From indoor farm success stories to the latest innovations in artificial intelligence, LED lighting and control systems to the impacts of the farm bill, we gathered a full roster of industry experts to address today’s most pressing topics and issues."
In addition to education, attendees also had the opportunity to explore the latest innovations and offerings on the expo floor. To facilitate networking and build booth traffic, lunch and afternoon cocktail receptions, sponsored by Kennett Township, were held on the show floor.
During the opening day reception, Michael Guttman, Director of Kennett’s Sustainable Development Office (SDO), announced the launch of the world’s first Center of Excellence (COE) devoted entirely to indoor farming.
A global public-private partnership based in the greater Philadelphia area, the COE mission is to accelerate growth and innovation in the indoor farming industry.
The events and activity on the show floor were very well received by exhibitors. “We’ve been very pleased with our booth traffic,” said Brecht Stubbe, Global Sales Director, Urban Crop Solutions. “The level of interested parties and qualified leads has definitely improved.”
“In my four years of doing conferences like this, I have not had the steady booth traffic we’ve experienced here,” adds Stacy Davis, Sales Account and Marketing Manager, Germains Seed Technology.
Look for the 2020 show dates announcement and other Indoor Ag-Con news coming soon.
