Now in its fifth year, CEA Summit East brings greenhouse growers, vertical farm operators, and others working in protected cropping together with academia/researchers, suppliers, technologists, and other industry professionals. The summit is co-produced by Indoor Ag-Con, the leading trade show and conference for the greenhouse, CEA, and vertical farming sector, and the CEA Innovation Center, a joint project between IALR and the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“Graduate student research has always had a place at CEA Summit East, and the Poster Competition is where that shows most clearly — giving emerging researchers a direct opportunity to connect with growers, suppliers, and industry professionals face to face,” said Kaylee South, PhD, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Controlled Environment Agriculture, Virginia Tech. “We encourage graduate students working across any aspect of controlled environment agriculture to submit their abstracts for consideration.”
Competition Eligibility and Guidelines
• The competition is open to currently enrolled or recently graduated (Spring 2026 or later) graduate students, including M.S., Ph.D., and professional students.
• Entrants must present posters on original CEA-related research they have conducted.
• Abstract submissions must be received by July 22, 2026.
• Each presenter will receive a full conference scholarship pass, including all sessions, keynotes, networking events, meals, and a tour of the CEA Innovation Center.
• All posters will be judged and scored at the conference. Winners will be announced during the breakfast and keynote session on Day 2, Sept. 16, 2026.
ABOUT CEA SUMMIT EAST The CEA Summit East is an annual conference bringing greenhouse growers, vertical farm operators, and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) professionals together with researchers, suppliers, and industry leaders. Produced by Indoor Ag-Con and the CEA Innovation Center — a joint project of IALR and the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences — the summit focuses on the intersection of protected cropping, production science, and emerging technology. Held at the IALR Conference Center in Danville, Virginia, the event includes keynote presentations, panel discussions, breakout sessions, tabletop exhibits, and guided tours of the CEA Innovation Center’s working research facility. For more information, visit www.ceasummit.com.
ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con is North America’s largest trade show and conference for greenhouse, controlled environment agriculture and vertical farming. The event covers all crop types and brings together growers, tech providers, researchers, and business leaders to explore trends and innovations shaping the future of food production. For more information, visit www.indoor.ag.
ABOUT THE CEA INNOVATION CENTER The CEA Innovation Center is primarily housed in Danville, Virginia, on the IALR campus and in Blacksburg, Virginia, on the Virginia Tech main campus. It is a joint project between the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and IALR to serve the growing controlled environment agriculture industry. It addresses the needs of the industry with research, education, and extension programs. For more information, visit www.ceaic.org
When Garrett Wagg first walked into Indoor Ag-Con in early 2025, he wasn’t there to sell anything, just to listen and gather as much information as possible. “I’m not the expert in that space. I want to hear from the grower what their needs and wants are, what they don’t like, what they want,” says Wagg, the Automation and Electrification Product Manager at Bosch Rexroth.
What he heard shaped everything that followed. A year later, Bosch Rexroth returned to Indoor Ag-Con with a booth, a partner ecosystem, and a clear point of view on what the CEA controls market was getting wrong.
A gap worth filling
Bosch Rexroth is best known as a leading supplier in motion control and drive technology, but when the company launched its ctrlX AUTOMATION platform in late 2019, it opened a much wider aperture. “When we rolled out ctrlX, our device had the capability of doing data collection, environmental control, a lot of PLC functionality that you’d find in smart building automation,” Wagg explains. “When we were looking at markets, we learned that there aren’t really products out there that can do environmental control and also do data collection, and also do motion control. We saw that there’s kind of a nice market here.”
New for 2026, select sessions will be held inside the greenhouse of the CEA Innovation Center, where attendees won’t just hear about the latest advances in CEA — they’ll see them growing. Guided tours of the full Innovation Center complex are included with every conference pass, giving all attendees a behind-the-scenes look at the research, technology and science shaping the future of the industry.
From the Conference Room to the Grow Room
The CEA Innovation Center’s Danville complex features a working greenhouse, vertical growing systems, indoor growth rooms, growth chambers and hydroponic production systems where scientists and industry partners are actively collaborating on research that is advancing the CEA sector in the U.S. and internationally.
In 2026, that facility becomes part of the conference itself. Hands-on greenhouse sessions will give growers, educators, technology providers, and business leaders a rare opportunity to engage directly with working research — not just the summary slide. It is an experience that simply cannot be replicated at a conventional venue.
“From the deep-dive sessions to the tabletop exhibits to the greenhouse itself, every element of CEA Summit East comes together to create an experience that stands apart in our industry — an event where hands-on learning, leading suppliers and working science all share the same roof. Or in this case, the same research facility.”
“Opening our greenhouse and research facilities as active learning spaces for Summit attendees is a natural extension of what the CEA Innovation Center is all about — connecting industry and academia in ways that create real impact,” added Dr. Scott Lowman, Vice President of Applied Research at IALR and Co-Director of the CEA Innovation Center. “When a grower can stand inside a working research greenhouse and have a direct conversation with the scientist conducting that research, the value of that exchange is immeasurable. We’re proud to offer that experience and look forward to welcoming the industry back to Danville. ”
A Conference Program Built for Depth
The 2026 program is currently in development and will feature headliner keynotes, special panel presentations, and four breakout tracks with 90-minute deep-dive sessions.
• Launching a CEA Operation — Practical guidance for those starting or scaling a controlled environment agriculture business ranging from high tunnel to greenhouse to vertical farm.
• Food Safety & Pest Management — Critical compliance, best practices and integrated pest management strategies for CEA producers
Rounding out the program are the popular CEA Industry & Research Showcase Sessions — fast-paced, idea-packed presentations that put industry innovators and researchers in front of a highly engaged CEA audience. From grower success stories to the latest research findings, these sessions deliver concentrated insight from the people doing some of the most important work in the industry today, making them an ideal platform for sharing results, discoveries and innovations.
See the Solutions. Meet the Suppliers.
From environmental controls and automation systems to greenhouse structures, packaging solutions and nutrients, the Summit’s tabletop exhibits puts attendees face-to-face with the companies driving CEA forward.
Already confirmed for 2026: JASA Packaging Solutions, Dalsem Complete Greenhouse Projects, Priva, Jack’s Nutrients, Rimol Greenhouse Systems, Moleaer, Pace 49, and Berger — with additional exhibitors joining the list.
The Summit’s focused, close-knit format sets the stage for quality conversations and networking. Morning coffee breaks, seated lunch, and a happy hour reception among the tabletop exhibits on September 15th create plentiful opportunities to connect with growers, researchers, government representatives, suppliers, educators and industry leaders.
Included with Every Pass: A Tour Unlike Any Other
Cap off your CEA Summit experience with a guided tour of the cutting-edge CEA Innovation Center — included with every conference registration. Explore the research greenhouse, automation systems, and ongoing trials. This is not a marketing showcase: it’s a firsthand look at how science and innovation are shaping real-world CEA solutions, led by the researchers and specialists doing the work.
Additional tour details and stops will be announced soon. Year after year, the Innovation Center tour ranks among the most talked-about elements of the Summit — a fitting close to two days of deep learning, meaningful connections, and hands-on discovery.
For more information on the CEA Summit East and to register for the event, please visit www.ceasummit.com
ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con is North America’s largest trade show and conference for greenhouse, controlled environment agriculture and vertical farming. The event covers all crop types and brings together growers, tech providers, researchers, and business leaders to explore trends and innovations shaping the future of food production For more information, visit www.indoor.ag.
ABOUT THE CEA INNOVATION CENTER
The CEA Innovation Center is primarily housed in Danville, Virginia, on the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) campus and in Blacksburg, Virginia, on the Virginia Tech main campus. It is a joint project between the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and IALR to serve the growing controlled environment agriculture industry. It addresses the needs of the industry with research, education, and extension programs. For more information, visit www.ceaic.org
In this guest post, Andrew Rose, Advisor with the BIO-ISAC and a speaker at the recent Indoor Ag-Con 2026, shares a practical checklist designed to help growers ask the right cybersecurity questions when evaluating technology vendors—and protect the systems their operations depend on.
Indoor agriculture runs on tech: environmental controls, nutrient dosing systems, sensors, robotics, crop analytics platforms, cloud dashboards, remote monitoring from your phone, etc. Each new device or platform increases productivity, visibility as well as your digital attack surface.
Most growers evaluate vendors based on yield improvement, labor savings, integration, and cost. That makes sense. However, rarely do they think about security and what will happen when their system gets hacked?
A ransomware bricked network can halt climate systems. A compromised sensor network can corrupt data needed for FSMA validation. A breached cloud account can expose proprietary production information or customer contracts. In a financially intensive and time-sensitive environment like indoor agriculture, downtime after an attack can sink the entire operation.
Below is a straight-forward checklist developed for growers in the Indoor Ag-Con community to use when evaluating technology vendors.
Basic Security and Password Protection
Does the equipment or software require a password or login?
Can I change the default password myself? How?
Do you enforce strong password requirements (length and complexity)?
Do you support multi-factor authentication (MFA)?
Are there any shared passwords between customers or support staff?
Default passwords are one of the most common attack vectors in agriculture and manufacturing environments.
Shared accounts eliminate
MFA dramatically reduces the risk of credential theft leading to system
Where is my data stored (on the device, in the cloud, or both)?
Who owns the data; me, your company, or both?
Can you share or sell my farm data to third parties?
Can I request my data be deleted? How long does that take?
Your operational data is intellectual property. It reflects years of optimization and investment. You should know who controls it, who can access it, and how it is protected.
Network and Device Security
Many indoor farms operate on flat networks. Everything is connected to the same Wi-Fi. That creates risk.
Is the device encrypted (both data in transit and at rest)?
Does it require its own network, or will it run on my existing Wi-Fi?
Can the device operate if the internet goes down?
Does it connect to other machines or systems on my farm?
Can I limit what it connects to?
A compromised sensor should not become a gateway into your entire
Segmentation and encryption reduce the blast radius of an
Offline functionality protects crops during internet outages or cyber
Updates and Patch Management
Software vulnerabilities are discovered constantly. What matters is how quickly they are fixed.
How do you deliver security updates or patches?
Are updates automated or manual?
How long will you support this product with security updates?
What happens if a vulnerability is found? How fast do you respond?
Unpatched systems are prime ransomware
If a vendor stops issuing updates after two years, your equipment may become a liability long before it reaches end-of-life mechanically.
Incident Response and Liability
If your system is breached, how will you notify me and how quickly?
Do you have a documented incident response process?
Who is liable if your system causes downtime, crop loss, or equipment damage?
Do you carry cyber insurance?
Do you subcontract any part of your service (cloud hosting, customer support, sensor data processing)?
If yes: What security standards do they follow?
Many ag-tech companies rely on third-party cloud providers and Your risk extends beyond the logo on the invoice.
You are not just buying equipment—you are inheriting part of their supply chain risk.
Access Control and Vendor Permissions
Remote diagnostics and service are valuable. But they must be controlled.
Does your staff have remote access to my equipment?
Can I see when and why someone accesses my system?
Can I turn off remote access?
Are service technicians required to log in with individual accounts (not shared accounts)?
Remote access without logging and accountability is a major
You should always know who accessed your system, when, and for what
Interoperability and End-of-Life Planning
Technology companies fail. Products are discontinued. Startups pivot.
Is the system compatible with other equipment brands, or is it locked in?
What happens if the company stops supporting it?
If you go out of business, will the device still work?
Vendor lock-in combined with poor security support creates long-term operational
A device that stops functioning when a cloud subscription ends or when a company closes can disrupt production unexpectedly.
Certifications and Standards
These are basic questions in the cyber security sector, it will demonstrate how serious they take security.
Do you follow any recognized cybersecurity standards? (Examples: ISO 27001, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, SOC 2)
Have you ever had a third-party cybersecurity audit?
The Short List: For Quick Vendor Conversations
If time is limited, start here:
Can I change the default password, and do you support MFA?
What data do you collect, and who owns it?
Where is the data stored?
Is the data encrypted?
How often do you update your software or firmware?
How quickly do you respond to discovered vulnerabilities?
Do you carry cyber insurance?
Who is liable if your system is hacked?
Can your staff remotely access my equipment or data?
If you go out of business, will my device still work?
Cybersecurity is Part of Risk Management
Indoor agriculture is infrastructure. Controlled environment farms support food security, pharmaceutical inputs, seed production, and high-value specialty crops. Our adversaries and ne’er-do-wells won’t need to destroy a facility physically to cause damage. Disrupting digital systems can be enough to cause a FSMA issue.
The goal is to normalize conversations and questions about the potential vulnerabilities in the equipment growers depend on. When operators ask these questions consistently, vendors respond by building more secure products. Over time, the entire ecosystem becomes more resilient.
The BIO-ISAC encourages the Indoor Ag-Con community to treat cybersecurity as part of due diligence, just like electrical load calculations, water quality analysis, and HVAC redundancy planning.
For more information about the BIO-ISAC, visit www.isac.bio
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) has transformed what is possible in soft fruit production. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, once thought impractical for indoor systems, are now being grown successfully in greenhouses, vertical farms, and hybrid facilities around the world. With precise control over light, temperature, humidity, and nutrition, growers can produce high-quality fruit year-round, close to key markets, and with remarkable consistency.
While indoor systems reduce many of the risks associated with outdoor production, they do not eliminate disease. In fact, the high-density, high-investment nature of CEA makes disease prevention more critical than ever. A single outbreak of disease can quickly spread through a facility, disrupt production schedules, reduce yields, compromise fruit quality, and in severe cases, force a full system reset.
In indoor berry production, clean plant material is not just a quality preference; it is a foundational business decision. Disease prevention is one of the most powerful levers growers can pull to protect margins, stabilize production, and maximize return on investment (ROI).
Why Indoor Does Not Mean Disease-Free
It is easy to assume that a sealed greenhouse or vertical farm provides complete protection from pests and disease. Compared to open-field production, CEA systems certainly offer greater control and isolation; however, these environments are not immune to biological risk.
CEA facilities can create ideal conditions for rapid disease spread due to:
High plant density: Indoor systems maximize production per square foot, which means plants are grown close together. Once a pathogen is introduced, it can spread quickly.
Shared infrastructure: Recirculating water systems, shared tools, and centralized air handling can unintentionally move pathogens throughout a facility.
Limited crop rotation: Many CEA operations run continuous production cycles, which reduces natural breaks that would otherwise suppress disease populations.
The fact is that indoor systems can experience rapid, facility-wide outbreaks, making prevention far more valuable than reaction.
How Viruses and Root Pathogens Enter CEA Systems
Understanding how diseases enter controlled environments is the first step in preventing them.
Infected Plant Material
The most common entry point for viruses and root pathogens is infected starting material. Many strawberry and bramble viruses are latent, meaning plants can appear healthy while still carrying harmful pathogens. Once inside a facility, these viruses can spread through propagation, handling, and plant-to-plant contact.
Water Systems
Water is both essential and a risk. Poorly sanitized irrigation systems, shared reservoirs, and recirculating nutrient loops can distribute pathogens across large production zones. Even minor contamination can escalate into a major outbreak.
Tools, Equipment, and Workers
Human movement is another significant factor. Tools, carts, gloves, footwear, and hands can transfer pathogens between zones. Without strict sanitation protocols, even well-designed facilities are vulnerable.
Airflow and Environmental Inputs
While less common, airborne spores and contaminants can enter through ventilation systems, open doors, or intake air. Organic substrates, packaging materials, and growing media can also introduce disease if not properly treated.
The Economics of Clean Plant Material
Infrastructure investments in buildings, lighting, climate control, automation, and labor mean that production disruptions carry steep financial consequences.
Disease impacts profitability in several ways:
Yield loss: Infected plants often produce less fruit or fail entirely.
Quality degradation: Fruit size, shelf life, and appearance can suffer, affecting marketability.
Labor inefficiency: Time spent diagnosing, removing plants, sanitizing systems, and replanting increases labor costs.
System downtime: Severe outbreaks may require partial or full system shutdowns for cleaning and resetting.
Replanting costs: Replacement plants, substrate, and lost production cycles add significant expense.
In indoor systems, even small disruptions can translate into six- or seven-figure losses annually.
Best Practices for Sanitation in CEA Facilities
Even the cleanest plants can become infected if sanitation protocols inside the facility are weak. Disease prevention must be approached as a systems-level strategy.
Controlled Access and Zoning
Limiting who enters production zones and when reduces contamination risk. Many facilities use zone-based access systems, color-coded tools, and designated clothing or footwear.
Tool and Equipment Sanitation
All tools and carts should be cleaned and sanitized between uses and between zones. Automated sanitation stations help maintain consistency.
Water Treatment
Water should be filtered, treated, and regularly tested. UV treatment, ozone, and other filtration systems can prevent pathogens from circulating through nutrient loops.
Worker Training
Sanitation protocols only work when employees understand and follow them. Regular training, auditing, and reinforcement are essential.
Monitoring and Early Detection
Routine scouting and testing allow growers to detect issues early, when intervention is still manageable. In indoor systems, early response can mean the difference between a minor correction and a full-scale outbreak.
Why Clean Plants Matter Even More for Strawberries and Brambles
Soft fruit crops present unique disease challenges in CEA systems.
Strawberries
Strawberries are particularly susceptible to viral infections, root diseases, and crown pathogens. Many strawberry viruses remain asymptomatic until plants are under production stress, at which point yields and fruit quality can decline rapidly.
In indoor systems where strawberries are expected to perform at high productivity levels for extended periods, starting clean is essential.
Raspberries and Blackberries
Long cane raspberry and blackberry production depends heavily on healthy vascular systems. Viral or root infections can severely limit cane vigor, fruit set, and berry size.
Because long cane systems represent a significant upfront investment, disease-free starting material is critical to achieving expected returns.
John Place, CEO, Nourse Farms
Clean Plants as a High-ROI Investment
The foundation of a clean system is clean plants. Investing in high-quality, virus-indexed plant material directly reduces the probability of catastrophic loss. When viewed through a risk-management lens, clean plants deliver ROI by:
Stabilizing yields
Improving crop uniformity
Reducing chemical intervention
Lowering labor requirements
Protecting long-term system performance
Selecting a Propagation Partner
Selecting the right propagation partner is one of the most important decisions CEA berry growers can make.
Virus-Indexed Mother Stock
All commercial plant production begins with mother plants. In high-quality systems, these plants undergo routine virus indexing using laboratory testing to verify that they are free from known pathogens. This process ensures that propagation material remains clean generation after generation, significantly reducing disease risk downstream.
In-House Tissue Culture Laboratories
Advanced propagators maintain in-house tissue culture labs, allowing them to:
Produce disease-free starter plants
Rapidly multiply elite genetics
Maintain strict traceability and sanitation controls
Tissue culture production provides the cleanest possible starting point for CEA growers.
Multi-Stage Quality Control
Clean plant production requires rigorous quality control at every stage:
Lab testing
Greenhouse inspections
Field monitoring
Pre-shipment checks
Facilities that implement multiple inspection and testing points dramatically reduce the chance of disease slipping through.
The Nourse Farms Approach: Clean Plants from the Ground Up
At Nourse Farms, plant health is the cornerstone of everything we do. For more than 90 years, our focus has been on producing reliable, high-performing strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry plants for commercial growers.
Our approach to clean plant production checks all the boxes:
Virus-indexed mother plants to ensure propagation begins with clean genetics
An in-house tissue culture laboratory for maximum control over plant health
Rigorous, multi-stage quality control programs throughout propagation
Strict sanitation protocols in both lab and field environments
Continuous testing and inspection to identify and eliminate risk early
We deliver planting material that supports consistent yields, predictable performance, and long-term system stability, especially critical for indoor and greenhouse production. For CEA growers, this means:
Faster establishment
More uniform crops
Reduced disease pressure
Lower long-term operating risk
Clean Plants as a Strategic Business Decision
In CEA berry production, success depends on consistency. Investors, retailers, and consumers all expect predictable volumes, quality, and timing. Disease disrupts every one of these expectations.
By prioritizing clean plant material and rigorous sanitation protocols, growers shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive risk management. This shift not only protects yield, but it also strengthens business resilience.
As CEA berry production continues to scale, operations that invest in prevention will consistently outperform those that rely on treatment and correction.
Final Thoughts: Prevention Is the Highest ROI Input
Lighting systems, climate control technology, automation, and advanced substrates all play critical roles in modern CEA production. But none of these investments can deliver their full value if disease undermines crop performance. Clean plants are the foundation upon which successful indoor berry growing systems are built. By investing in virus-indexed, rigorously tested plant material and maintaining strict sanitation protocols, growers protect not only their crops, but their entire business model.
In an industry where margins are tight and expectations are high, disease prevention stands as one of the most powerful and reliable levers for maximizing return on investment. At Nourse Farms, we believe that clean plants create strong systems, resilient businesses, and profitable harvests. For more information about how Nourse Farms can support you in your indoor berry growing venture, contact us at 1-877-NFBERRY (1-877-632-3779) or info@noursefarms.com.
Indoor Ag-Con and Sollum Technologies have announced Karli Barton, a Master of Environmental Science student at the University of Guelph, as the recipient of the 2026 Sollum Student Scholarship to Indoor Ag-Con.
The scholarship supports emerging leaders in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) by providing a fully funded opportunity to attend Indoor Ag-Con 2026, taking place February 11–12 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The program is designed to connect academic research with real-world industry application through mentorship, networking, and exposure to the latest technologies shaping indoor farming.
Scholarship benefits include
A full-access conference pass to the February 11-12, 2026 event
Round-trip airfare (coach)
A two-night hotel stay (room and tax)
A daily per diem allowance
Scheduled one-on-one meeting time with the Sollum Technologies team in their expo booth
An opportunity to film a short video interview recapping their experience and learnings from the show — to be featured by both Indoor Ag-Con and Sollum Technologies across digital channels
About the Scholarship Recipient
Karli Barton is a second-year Masters of Environmental Science student at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Her research focuses on the intersection of advanced LED lighting strategies and sustainable pest management in controlled-environment strawberry production. A key component of her work examines how dynamic lighting regimes—such as blue-light night interruption and continuous lighting—affect the performance of biological control agents used to manage aphid pests.
Before beginning graduate studies, Barton spent nearly a decade working in integrated pest management roles across both field and controlled-environment systems, including six years as a biocontrol consultant supporting commercial greenhouse operations. Her research aims to help growers adopt innovative lighting technologies without compromising the effectiveness of biological pest control, bridging scientific research with practical, on-farm decision-making.
“Supporting emerging researchers like Karli is critical to the future of controlled environment agriculture,” said Jenny Zammit, Vice President of Marketing and Customer Success at Sollum Technologies. “Her work reflects exactly what this scholarship was designed to encourage—rigorous, applied research that helps growers integrate new technologies in a sustainable and practical way.”
“Indoor Ag-Con is proud to partner with Sollum Technologies to provide meaningful opportunities for students who are shaping the future of indoor agriculture,” said Brian Sullivan, CEO of Indoor Ag-Con. “Karli’s background and research exemplify the kind of industry-connected innovation we aim to support through this scholarship.”
About Indoor Ag-Con
Indoor Ag-Con is the premier trade show and conference for the indoor and vertical farming industry. Held annually in Las Vegas, the event attracts CEA growers, suppliers, researchers, and technology providers from across the globe for two days of educational sessions, networking, and innovation showcases. Learn more at www.indoor.ag.
About Sollum Technologies
As the leader in advanced, dynamic LED lighting for commercial greenhouses, Sollum Technologies offers a unique proposition. The comprehensive solution provides the flexibility to adapt lighting in real time to meet crop needs at every stage of growth, supports producers operational and financial goals in a sustainable manner, and offers unmatched technical and agronomic guidance. Designed and manufactured in North America, Sollum’s technology is deployed across major greenhouse operations to support year-round production, consistent quality, and smarter energy use. Founded in 2015, Sollum is headquartered in Montréal with regional offices in Ontario and Georgia. For more information visit www.sollum.tech
After an incredible inaugural year with 50+ participants, Women in CEA is bringing its Luncheon back to Indoor Ag-Con 2026 in Las Vegas. Program – Thursday, February 12 from Noon – 1:30 PM on day two of Indoor Ag-Con.
This time centered on the theme “Action vs. Waiting.”
The luncheon will include:
• A short introduction to WiCEA and why this community exists
• Recognition of our sponsors and their commitment to elevating women in CEA
• The kickoff of our mentorship program
• Guided networking to foster meaningful, long-term connections
The tickets are as always for free, but donations are open.
JR Peters is already signed on as a sponsor of the event and Women in CEA is looking for additional sponsors, too.
Women in CEA, is community open to all women (and allies) working in controlled environment agriculture. WiCEA’s purpose is to foster a collaborative and supportive environment through the power of networking, information and resource sharing. The WiCEA community endeavors to strengthen the overall industry of CEA, creating food stability in the face of climate change and geopolitical instability in a dynamic world. The group is creating a space for women to innovate, connect and inspire.
–IndoorAg-Con and Inside Grower magazine are pleased to announce the finalists for the 2nd annual CEAs – Cultivating Excellence Awards, a program honoring excellence, innovation, and leadership within the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector.
Celebrating outstanding achievement across three categories—Operational Excellence, Product Innovation, and the newly added Trailblazer Award—The CEAs spotlight growers, innovators, and individuals who are shaping the future of indoor agriculture.
The 2026 CEAs will be presented during a special gala luncheon on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at the 13th annual edition of Indoor Ag-Con, held at the Westgate Las Vegas. Winners in each category will be announced live during the event.
2026 Finalists:
Operational Excellence Award
Recognizing a commercial CEA grower that consistently delivers quality products while distinguishing itself through innovation in production, technology, marketing, and overall strategy.
BrightFarms
Haven Greens
Planet Farms
Product Innovation Award
Honoring a breakthrough product that addresses critical industry challenges and delivers exceptional value for CEA customers.
Jiffy Group – Jiffy Gel
Voltiris – Energy & Crops, Without Compromise Solar Modules
Zayndu – Activated Air™ On-Site Seed Priming System
Trailblazer Award
Honoring an individual whose vision, leadership, and impact have meaningfully advanced the CEA industry. The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony.
“It’s inspiring to see the range of thoughtful innovation reflected in this year’s finalists,” said Brian Sullivan, CEO of Indoor Ag-Con. “The CEAs offer a chance to acknowledge the people and companies making a real impact in CEA, and we’re pleased to team up with Inside Grower magazine to celebrate and recognize their work at the 2026 event.”
“Inside Grower is proud to partner with Indoor Ag-Con to shine a spotlight on the innovators elevating controlled environment agriculture,” said Paul Black, Publisher, Inside Grower. “With the addition of the new Trailblazer Award, we’re excited to honor a true leader whose long-term contributions have helped shape the industry into what it is today.”
All Indoor Ag-Con 2026 Full Access Pass Holders are invited to attend The CEAs Gala Luncheon on Wednesday, February 11, from 12:00–1:00 PM.
For more information on The CEAs and to register for Indoor Ag-Con, visit www.indoor.ag
ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con has emerged as the largest trade show and conference for vertical farming | greenhouse | controlled environment agriculture. The event brings together industry professionals from across the globe to explore the latest trends, technologies, and innovations in the CEA sector. Its events are crop-agnostic and touch all sectors of the business, covering produce, legal cannabis | hemp, alternate protein and non-food crops. More information, visit www.indoor.ag
ABOUT INSIDE GROWER
Part of Ball Publishing’s family of media brands, Inside Grower is a leading publication serving the controlled environment agriculture industry. The magazine delivers in-depth production guidance, crop-specific insights, market intelligence, and timely reporting to help CEA operations thrive. More information:www.insidegrower.com
As controlled environment agriculture matures, growers are looking beyond new tools and toward proven systems that perform under pressure. In this guest blog, Indoor Ag-Con exhibitor Elevated draws on years of experience in commercial cannabis—one of the most demanding forms of indoor cultivation—to explore how precision, integration, and systems thinking translate across crops. The result is a grounded perspective on what it really takes to scale indoor agriculture with consistency and control.(Meet Elevated at Booth 403 at Indoor Ag-Con 2026.)
The future of agriculture is controlled. Whether driven by climate volatility, resource constraints, or the demand for consistent, high-quality yields, growers across industries are moving indoors, toward environments where variables are measured, managed, and optimized rather than left to chance.
At Elevated, this isn’t a new frontier. It’s a natural evolution.
For years, we’ve operated at the center of the commercial cannabis industry, one of the most technically demanding, tightly regulated, and performance-driven forms of agriculture in the world. Success in cannabis doesn’t come from theory. It comes from precision, repeatability, and systems that perform day after day under pressure.
Now, we’re taking that hard-won expertise and applying it to the broader world of controlled environment agriculture (CEA).
Cannabis as the Ultimate Training Ground
Cannabis cultivation is unforgiving.
Margins are tight. Regulations are complex. Crop failures are expensive. Every decision, from lighting layout and nutrient strategy to airflow, water treatment, and data collection, has measurable consequences.
To succeed, you need:
Highly engineered grow environments
Deep understanding of plant physiology
Tight integration between equipment, inputs, and data
Teams that think in systems, not silos
That reality forced us to build differently from the start.
We didn’t become successful by selling individual products. We became successful by helping growers design and operate complete cultivation systems, spaces where lighting, nutrients, environmental controls, and plant data work together to support predictable outcomes at scale.
Those same fundamentals are exactly what controlled agriculture requires—whether you’re growing leafy greens, herbs, strawberries, or specialty crops.
What We Actually Do (and Why It Works)
At our core, Elevated is a full-cycle cultivation partner.
We support growers from early planning through full operation, providing:
Facility layout and grow-room design
Equipment and systems selection
Lighting, nutrient, and irrigation strategies
Environmental and water management solutions
Data-driven optimization tools
Ongoing advisory support
Because we work directly with commercial operators, our solutions are grounded in real-world constraints: budgets, labor efficiency, energy use, compliance, and long-term scalability.
This approach translates seamlessly into controlled agriculture because the problems are the same:
How do you maximize yield per square foot?
How do you maintain consistency across harvests?
How do you reduce risk while increasing efficiency?
How do you scale without losing control?
We’ve been solving those problems for years.
Transferring Precision Across Crops
Controlled agriculture isn’t about copying cannabis methods, it’s about transferring principles.
What carries over:
Environmental control strategies that balance plant health with energy efficiency
Lighting systems engineered for uniformity and scalability
Nutrient delivery and water treatment designed for consistency and waste reduction
Data collection frameworks that inform real decisions, not dashboards for show
What changes:
Crop-specific growth curves
Lighting spectra and intensity targets
Nutrient formulations and irrigation timing
Harvest cadence and labor workflows
Our value lies in knowing the difference and building systems that reflect it.
Built With the Best, Not Everything
Another key differentiator: we’re brand-agnostic but performance-obsessed.
Over time, we’ve aligned with best-in-class partners across lighting, nutrients, grow media, water management, and ag-tech companies that share our standards for reliability, innovation, and commercial viability.
That allows us to design solutions around what works, not what needs to be sold.
For controlled agriculture operators, this means fewer compromises and systems built around outcomes, not catalogs.
Why This Matters Now
The controlled agriculture space is growing fast but growth alone doesn’t guarantee success.
Many operators are discovering that building a controlled environment is one thing. Running it profitably, consistently, and at scale is another.
This is where experience matters.
Our background in cannabis means we’re comfortable operating where stakes are high and variables are tightly constrained. We understand that technology only delivers value when it’s integrated correctly and when teams are supported with the right knowledge and processes.
As controlled agriculture continues to mature, the industry will favor partners who’ve already proven they can perform under pressure.
That’s the role we’re here to play.
Looking Ahead
At this trade show, we’re not just showcasing products, we’re sharing a perspective.
A belief that the future of agriculture will be built by operators who think in systems, design with intention, and rely on data as a decision-making tool rather than a buzzword.
We’re proud of our roots in cannabis. They shaped how we think, how we build, and how we partner.
And we’re excited to apply that same rigor, precision, and accountability to the next generation of controlled agriculture.
If you’re building a cultivation operation and looking for a partner who understands what it takes to make controlled environments actually work, we’d love to talk.
Kyle Barnett, Conference Program Director, Indoor Ag-Con
Over the past month, I had the privilege of spending a concentrated amount of time in pre-planning conversations for Indoor Ag-Con in Las Vegas on February 11–12. These were not surface-level calls. They were working sessions meant to shape discussions that go beyond the usual talking points and actually serve operators and suppliers.
In every group, I asked for the same thing: be honest, address the elephants in the room, and focus on what people can actually act on when they go back home. By the end of the month, my head was spinning. Not from volume, but from how consistently the same themes kept coming up across different crops, roles, and geographies.
Each of these conversations generated meeting notes and transcripts. To step back and avoid over-weighting any single perspective, I used AI as a tool to analyze and organize those notes, looking for repeated patterns and shared concerns. The insights below are not AI conclusions. They are a synthesis of real conversations, filtered through experience and judgment. Names and companies are intentionally left out. This is about clarity, not attribution.
A few things became very clear.
The Industry Feels More Serious
There is noticeably less appetite for hype and far more focus on trade-offs, sequencing, and consequences. People are asking better questions. They are more willing to talk openly about what did not work and why. That shift showed up across nearly every conversation and is reflected directly in how Indoor Ag-Con sessions are being framed this year, with more emphasis on execution, scaling discipline, and post-build reality. CEA feels less like it is trying to prove itself and more like it is trying to operate well.
Scaling Has Been Reframed
Across greenhouse and vertical systems, the message was consistent: scaling before operations are stable creates problems that are hard to undo. Facility size, location, labor availability, and market access are now being discussed as interconnected decisions rather than isolated ones. Bigger is no longer assumed to be better. Proven, repeatable, and financeable are carrying more weight. This mindset shows up clearly in sessions focused on facility design, expansion timing, and responsible growth.
Technology Is Finding Its Proper Place
The conversations shaping sessions on integration, automation, AI, and data were far more grounded than in past years. Operators are not looking for more dashboards. They want fewer tools that actually help them make decisions, reduce labor strain, or manage risk. AI came up often, but almost always with its limits clearly acknowledged. Useful when paired with good data and sound agronomy. Risky when positioned as a shortcut around experience. That realism is guiding how AI-related discussions are being handled at the show. Technology is still important. It is just no longer the headline.
Labor and Culture Are Now Central
Labor was raised in almost every conversation, often before yield or technology. Staffing challenges are no longer being treated as temporary. They are structural. Facilities are being designed and redesigned around workforce realities, training capacity, and management bandwidth. There was also strong alignment around culture. Systems introduced without grower buy-in tend to fail. Tools designed without operator input tend to be ignored. These realities are shaping sessions that focus on operations, leadership, and the human side of CEA.
Crops Continue to Act as Reality Checks
Leafy greens continue to expose pricing pressure and overproduction risk. Cannabis conversations have become notably more pragmatic, with open acknowledgment of complexity, climate mistakes, and labor misalignment. Strawberries and berries keep pushing back against automation narratives, reinforcing the need for deep plant knowledge and airflow mastery. Specialty crops, including mushrooms, consistently highlight that market development often matters more than production capability. These crop-specific realities directly informed how tracks at Indoor Ag-Con were built this year, with less emphasis on novelty and more on fundamentals.
Market Reality Is Driving Discipline
Pricing, commoditization, and distribution came up as often as production. Yield alone is no longer being mistaken for success. Operators are talking more openly about differentiation, channel strategy, and demand alignment. Several sessions at the show are designed specifically to confront these issues directly rather than dance around them. Market awareness is no longer optional. It is foundational.
Why I’m Optimistic
Despite all of this, the dominant feeling coming out of these conversations was not pessimism. It was clarity. There is more honesty now. More shared learning. More willingness to say what does not work and move forward anyway. That is exactly the tone these Indoor Ag-Con discussions are meant to set. This past month did not feel like an ending for CEA. It felt like a reset that needed to happen. And based on what surfaced in these conversations, the industry is stepping into the next year with clearer eyes and stronger fundamentals.
Understanding how diseases enter controlled environments is the first step in preventing them.
The Nourse Farms Approach: Clean Plants from the Ground Up
Operational Excellence Award
