LAS VEGAS — From a spectacular takeoff backed by billions of venture capital funding and inflated expectations to a slew of bankruptcies and the crushing reality that farming is farming and not a tech play, indoor agriculture has learned a great deal in the last 10 years. The lessons learned by an industry still in its relative adolescence, was a key theme of opening day at the 12th annual Indoor Ag-Con on March 11, where Tom Stenzel, executive director of the CEA Alliance, took the stage to moderate the keynote state of the industry panel.
“If you’ve read anything about our industry in the past couple years, there are a lot of people talking about disillusionment,” said Stenzel, pointing to the lowest point of the Gartner Hype Cycle graph. “But you know what happens? That curve starts to go back up to the slope of enlightenment. We are on that slope of enlightenment, coming up to reality and coming up to a profitable reality.”
Among the lessons learned by the indoor ag industry, and in particular vertical farming, is that the evaluations were never realistic, Stenzel said.
“We were never going to disrupt the leafy greens industry overnight,” he said. “I think we are going to disrupt the industry, but it’s not going to be overnight. We were never going to produce the returns that people thought of in a Silicon Valley-type environment.”
Indoor ag learned to be farmers first, Stenzel said.
“Those of us in the room who started that way are more successful, but everybody is learning that technology is a tool; it’s not the driving factor in growing the very best fresh produce,” he said.
Discipline, consistency, the ability to replicate that consistency, and the importance of collaboration — all key to driving down production costs — are other lessons learned, he said.
As indoor ag grows up, Stenzel sees opportunity on the horizon.
“This is an agricultural revolution,” he said. “If you think about changing the ability to grow produce anywhere in the world, we’re separating agriculture from geography. That is a major change. When we look back 50 years from now — 100 years from now — they will be writing about revolution in agriculture. It’s going to be slower than the hype and excitement, but I guarantee it’s going to happen.”
Why is Stenzel convinced indoor ag will become a success story?
“Outdoor farming is getting harder and more expensive,” he said. “Indoor farming is getting easier and less expensive.
“The need is only growing for increased production efficiency, reduced use of natural resources, environmental sustainability, less use of pesticides and fertilizers, labor availability and production closer to consumers,” he continued. “All of those reasons are going to continue to drive this industry sector forward.”
The panel discussion featured three indoor ag success stories: Tisha Livingston, CEO of 80 Acres and Infinite Acres; Abby Prior, chief commercial officer for BrightFarms; and Skip Hullett, vice president and general counsel for NatureSweet.
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