Indoor Ag-Con marked its 10th Anniversary Edition with record increases in attendee and exhibitor participation for its February 27-28, 2023 run at Caesars Forum Las Vegas. The exhibitor booth roster doubled with a sold-out show floor featuring 134 companies in 174 booths vs 70 companies in 80 booths for 2022. Attendance saw a 62% increase over 2022 with 1453 attendees from 48 US states, the District of Columbia and US territories, as well as 29 other countries. Attendees included C-level execs and other decision-makers involved with every sector of controlled environment agriculture — growers, investors, tech providers, start-ups, academia, government, food service retail, suppliers and more.

For the second year, Indoor Ag-Con once again co-located with the National Grocers Association (NGA) Show, attracting 200+ attendees from that event to the Indoor Ag-Con expo floor — taking the total attendance number over the 1600 mark.

Attendees had the chance to hear different perspectives from key executives from both the investment and farm operation sectors. Arama Kukutai, CEO, Plenty kicked off day one with the opening morning keynote on February 27, 2023. During the second part of his address, he welcomed surprise guest, Mark Hagan, Chief Investment Officer, Realty Income, who joined him on stage for a fireside chat sharing more about the recently announced strategic real estate alliance to support the development of Plenty’s indoor vertical farms. Later that day Vonnie Estes, Vice President of Technology for the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) moderated the keynote panel, “The Ever-Changing Business Model Of Controlled Environment Agriculture Farming,” with Steve Platt, CEO, BrightFarms; Matt Ryan, CEO, Soli Organic; and Dave Vosburg, CIO, Local Bounti. On day two, February 28, 2023, Dave Chen, CEO, Equilibrium, took the stage to share his thoughts on “The State of CEA and the Road Ahead.”  Special thanks to our Keynote Sponsor — Voltserver!

Expanding to 174 booths, this year’s Expo Floor was home to some of the biggest names in CEA as well as up-and-coming suppliers.  From lighting and grow systems to substrates and irrigation, growers were able to see the newest innovations all under one roof.

The 2023 edition featured 3 educational tracks – Grower, Trends & Innovation and Funding & Guidance– that brought industry experts together covering a  wide range of topics from lighting solutions outside of standard wavelengths, to lessons learned from business failures, food security, strawberry production and workforce development and more.  In addition, the Expo Floor Theater featured a Hardball session on the state of vertical farming; and fireside chats with leaders from Unfold and GoodLeaf and a session on installation success.  In addition, the 2023 edition welcomed a  new debate format with sessions like greenhouse v. vertical farming, pre-built v. custom-built controlled environments and container v. vertical farming. 

The CEA Alliance sponsored the afternoon cocktail reception on the expo floor  at the end of day one — further expanding the show’s networking opportunities. 

Back by popular demand, Philips Horticulture LED Solutions teamed up once again with Indoor Ag-Con to tee-up the 2023 edition with a VIP Welcome Par-tee on Sunday evening, February 26 at Topgolf Las Vegas. Indoor Ag-Con conference speakers and other industry VIPs came together for an incredible evening of golf, networking, cocktails, food, music and fun – all compliments of Philips Horticulture LED Solutions.

The perfect way to wrap up the 10th Anniversary Edition of Indoor Ag-Con, this unique experience included a  tour through the Las Vegas community for a first-hand look at projects in the works to combat the food desert problem. The tour provided a great opportunity to learn about the efforts being made to bring healthy food to all and to meet the change-makers working tirelessly to make it happen.