CEA Summit East features latest in indoor growing

CEA Summit East will be Oct. 25-26 at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) Conference Center in Danville, Virginia.

Indoor Ag-Con and the Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center have partnered to launch CEA Summit East, bringing industry and academia together to share research and business strategies, and build partnerships to drive future growth for the sector.

The conference will feature CEA thought leaders, researchers and experts leading keynotes, panels and breakout sessions; exhibits presenting the latest CEA innovations and services; and networking opportunities.

“This partnership between IALR and Virginia Tech has brought together diverse professionals from industry and academia including many people not traditionally working directly in controlled environment agriculture,” Michael Evans, director of the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, said in a news release.

“This conference offers an exciting opportunity to bring people together for exchanging new and diverse ideas to help move the industry forward and into exciting directions,” Kaylee South, assistant professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech, said in the release.

The Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center is a joint project of the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech and the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.

Housed primarily within a modern indoor agricultural complex on the campus of the IALR in Danville, the center features hydroponic and soilless systems/production systems and facilities, including indoor growth rooms, greenhouses, growth chambers and vertical growing racks. The center’s scientists and technology teams are working with the industry’s top growers and suppliers on a number of key projects.

“By developing strategic partnerships with both industry and academia, the goal of the Innovation Center is to conduct research and educational programming to develop, promote and advance the controlled environment agriculture sector,” Scott Lowman, director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center, said in the release. “The new partnership with Indoor Ag-Con perfectly aligns with our goal and promises to deliver a top-notch event experience for CEA industry stakeholders.”

The Indoor Ag-Con trade show and conference touches all sectors of the business covering produce, legal cannabis, hemp, alternate protein and non-food crops. The event attracts decision-making growers, investors, real estate developers, ag tech leaders, produce buyers, academics, policymakers, industry suppliers and advocates from across the U.S. and more than 20 other countries.

The CEA Summit East is custom-tailored for new and well-seasoned CEA industry members from throughout the Eastern U.S., including indoor and greenhouse growers, facility owners and operators, educators, government officials, real estate developers, architects, construction specialists, and sales and marketing teams.

The event will include tabletop displays from manufacturers and suppliers of AI and automation, control systems, sensors, equipment/accessories, greenhouse structures/supplies, lighting, irrigation, HVAC and more.

“From the incredible work researchers are doing at its Innovation Center to its state-of-the-art meeting venue, IALR is such a rich resource for the CEA industry,” said Brian Sullivan, CEO of Indoor Ag-Con, in the release. “We’re excited to bring our event experience and industry resources together with the expertise of IALR and Virginia Tech to create a showplace of innovation and educational opportunities for growers and other CEA industry members throughout the Eastern U.S.”

For more information on the summit, visit the conference website.