Indoor Ag-Con attendance jumps 16%

Attendance and exhibitor participation were both up for this year’s Indoor Ag-Con, held March 11-12 in Las Vegas.

The sold-out show floor featured 207 companies in 287 booths, with exhibiting companies increasing 54% over the 135 companies in 174 booths in 2023, organizers said. Attendance rose 16% over 2023 with 1,584 people from 49 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories, as well as other countries.

Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con is a trade show and conference for vertical farming, greenhouse growers and controlled environment agriculture. Attendees included C-level executives and other decision-makers involved with every sector of CEA: grower-operators, investors, tech providers, startups, academia, government, real estate developers, foodservice retail, suppliers and more, according to a news release.

For the third year, Indoor Ag-Con once again co-located with the National Grocers Association Show, attracting 146 attendees from that event to the Indoor Ag-Con expo floor — taking the total attendance number over 1,700, the release said.

Indoor Ag-Con Las Vegas will move to the Westgate Las Vegas for its March 11-12, 2025, event. The new location provides additional expo floor and meeting room space to accommodate the event’s growth, organizers said.

“Every year our speakers, exhibitors and attendees from across the country and globe look forward to Indoor Ag-Con as it brings together our industry as a community to hold important discussions on timely topics and show off what’s new in indoor agriculture,” Indoor Ag-Con CEO Brian Sullivan said in the release. “This year we experienced record exhibitor growth and attracted companies and attendees from 35 countries to our global event. Next year, we are moving to a new location providing more expo and meeting space as we continue to grow with this ever-evolving industry.” 

Organizers said highlights of the 11th annual event included:

• Keynote sessions — This year’s speakers included Little Leaf Farms founder and CEO Paul Sellew and Adam Bergman, managing director for the Clean Energy Transition Group and global head of agtech for Citi. The “Leader Insights: Charting the Future Landscape of Controlled Environment Agriculture” session was led by moderator Daniel Malech, CEA board chair and senior vice president for Plenty; Red Sun Farms President Jim DiMenna; Gotham Greens found and CEO Viraj Puri; and Soli Organic CEO Matt Ryan.
• Educational tracks and expo floor theater panel discussions — The conference featured two days of educational and insightful sessions from 90-plus speakers in four tracks.
• Sold-out expo floor — In 2024, the expo hall featured 207 companies in 287 booths showcasing technology, products and services in the indoor agriculture industry, from lighting and control systems to substrates, equipment, irrigation systems.
• Networking opportunities —Daily lunches and an afternoon cocktail reception on the expo floor expanded the show’s networking opportunities.