Click here to see the complete HortiDaily photo recap of Indoor Ag-Con 2017
Organizer Newbean Capital once again succeeded in bringing together a balanced mix of exhibitors and speakers at the event that was held on May 3 & 4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. We ran into quite a few familiar faces within the North American greenhouse and controlled environmental agriculture industry. Plenty of networking opportunities was a main reason for many visitors to come to the event.
"Other than a few large floriculture-minded events, there are basically not many other trade shows in the U.S. that have such a dedicated focus on the indoor production of leafy greens and vegetables. This is the reason for us to attend, we get to speak with a lot of interesting persons here that can help us move our projects forward", one of the attendees said. "It might not be as busy, yet the quality of visitors is very good. People that we met are either farming, they have plans to start a business or they are orienting to expand their current business with activities related to indoor farming."
Besides existing growers and farmers, also many companies active in investment and venture capital were present to learn about the opportunities in indoor farming. For them it is an interesting industry to place their money in, and Indoor Ag-Con once again showed that it takes a lot of knowledge and a dedicated approach to found a successful and profitable company.
Speaking to an investor, he hailed the conference's guiding role in showing investors the way and creating awareness of challenges that their investments can be exposed to. "The event brought us together with interesting potential partners that can help us making the right decisions and understand things better. This transfer of knowledge is crucial for the indoor agriculture industry to take off. Over the last couple of years, some plans did not work out as expected and the Indoor Ag-Con has taken on a role to make the industry more aware of the challenges."