Agenda: Building Supply Chain Resilience for Fresh Produce

• Following a challenging year for the indoor farming sector, how does the industry now move forward and rebuild confidence among buyers and investors?
• Where are we seeing opportunities for expansion, consolidation, and new entrants into the market?
• How are prominent growers evaluating their national and international growth strategies?
• What lessons can growers learn from other sectors that have experienced market downturns in the past?

Moderator:
Stephan Dolezalek, Managing Partner, GROSVENOR FOOD & AGTECH

Speakers:
Paul Sellew, CEO & Founder, LITTLE LEAF FARMS
Jed Lynch, CFO, 80 ACRES FARMS
Abby Prior, CCO, BRIGHTFARMS
Viraj Puri, CEO & Co-Founder, GOTHAM GREENS

• Indoor agriculture’s market share continues to steadily expand across product lines. How can the sector capitalize on this momentum to sustain its trajectory of growth?
• From packaged salads to tomato varieties, which segments within indoor-grown produce are seeing profitable niches emerge?
• With limited shelf space in supermarkets, what factors are merchandisers prioritizing, such as freshness, flavor, consistency, and sustainability?
• What is driving consumer engagement in fresh produce markets and what do merchandisers want to see from growers?
• What specific qualities, logistical considerations and assurances are food service companies seeking from indoor agriculture operations in order to confidently integrate CEA produce into their supply chain?

Moderator:
Tom Stenzel, Executive Director, CEA ALLIANCE

Speakers:
Dorn Wenninger, SVP Produce, UNFI
Martin Ruebelt, CSO & VP of R&D, NATURESWEET
Barry Murchie, President & CEO, GOODLEAF FARMS
Yan Branco, Lead, Produce Sourcing Innovation & CEA Development, SOBEYS

Speaker:
Kenya Merritt, Deputy Mayor of Business & Neighborhood Development, CITY OF CHICAGO

• What kind of data is becoming more important within the CEA sector?
• Where are cross-sector opportunities arising from data insights?
• What are the future prospects for sharing data to provide a greater benefit for the sector?

Presenter:
Jennifer Bromley, CSO, VERTICAL FUTURE

• When seeking to expand farming footprints, how do growers balance key considerations such as distribution network proximity, energy costs, labor availability and local climate conditions?
• Through optimizing facility design, how can growers ensure their farms can adapt to future hardware and software integration to keep up with technological developments?
• Are there feasible opportunities for CEA to position itself adjacent to other industrial facilities to utilize excess energy and adopt circular mindsets for energy use in food production?
• Different climates bring different farm needs; how can growers engage with designers to match the right facility for the location of new farms?

Moderator:
Andy Allen, Director, OASTHOUSE VENTURES

Speakers:
Thomas Parker, Co-Founder, WA3RM
Thijs Peekstok, VP Applied Research, VILLAGE FARMS
Jessica Fong, CEO & Founder, COMMON FARMS
Chris Evanich, Program Director, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

• How can indoor growers take advantage of year-round consistent conditions to grow berries and reduce reliance on field-grown crops and build resilient fruit supply?
• What do retailers and wholesalers need to see from growers producing soft fruit to sign partnerships that provide value for growers and buyers alike?
• Which seed companies and growers are developing berry varieties optimized for indoor growth and enhanced consumer experience?
• With vertical farmers looking to soft fruit for the prospect of higher revenues, what are the key challenges in growing them indoors that need to factor in before starting operations?

Moderator:
Suhas Narayanaswamy, Principal, LEWIS & CLARK AGRIFOOD

Speakers:
Tom Spaulding, VP for Berry Commercialization, PAIRWISE
Sandro van Kouteren, CEO, PARUS EUROPE
Josh Waters, SVP Produce, US FOODS

• Where is automation having the biggest impact on ROI in the greenhouse?
• How can technology providers, growers and academia collaborate in sharing resources and expertise to lower development costs for on-farm automation?
• With constantly improving products, how can greenhouse operators ensure that their farms are adaptable to future automation hardware to future-proof their businesses?
• Through integrating growth systems through to packaging, how can on-farm data allow for fully traceable end products?

Moderator:
Andrew Howell, Director, Private Equity, CERES PARTNERS

Speakers:
Damion Schwarzachel, Director North America, CERTHON
Joost Somford, CCO North America, JASA PACKAGING SOLUTIONS
Patrik Borenius, CEO, GREEN AUTOMATION AMERICAS

Join focused, interactive discussion groups to deep dive into the specific topics that are most relevant to you and your business.

• Scaling Operations: Technology’s Role in Enabling Greenhouse Expansion
  Host: Damion Schwarzachel, Director North America, CERTHON
• Communicating Value: Promoting Quality, Sustainability and Consistency
  Host: Martin Ruebelt, CSO, NATURESWEET
• Leveraging Space Research: Advancing Proteins, Pharma and Biomaterials
  Host: Jennifer Bromley, CSO, VERTICAL FUTURE
• Automating Operations: Profitability Through Maximizing Yields, Quality and Resource Efficiency
  Host: Martin Helmich, CCO, HOOGENDOORN GROWTH MANAGEMENT
• Securing Shelf Space: The Essentials of Bringing New Products to Supermarkets
  Host: Yan Branco, Lead, Produce Sourcing Innovation & CEA Development, SOBEYS
• Lighting the Way: Optimizing Production and Reducing Costs Through Efficient LEDs
  Host: Blake Lange, US Commercial Sales Leader, PHILIPS LED LIGHTING
• Venture’s Capital in CEA: Applying VC Funding to Indoor Farming
  Host: Michael Rose, Partner, BETTER FOOD VENTURES
• Driving Adoption in CEA: Leveraging Energy Efficiency Programs to Promote CEA Technologies
  Host: Eric Noller, Founder & Principal, ENERGY RESOURCES INTEGRATION
• Personalized Growing: Tackling Greenhouse Challenges with Tailored LED Recipes
  Hosts: Matthew Bonavita, Senior Director of Sales, US Market, SOLLUM TECHNOLOGIES & Sarah Lombardi, General Manager, RED SUN FARMS ONTARIO

A selection of start-ups focused on automating farm processes and reducing energy costs will each pitch their solution on stage, followed by an exploratory Q&A from our investor panelists.

Investors:
Michael Rose, Partner, BETTER FOOD VENTURES
Tanuj Dutta, Partner, CONGRUENT VENTURES

Start-Ups:
Willem Kesteloo, CEO & Co-Founder, FOTONIQ
Junell Abdi, Founder & CTO, GEIA AI
Nicolas Weber, Co-Founder & CEO, VOLTIRIS

• How can CEA be applied to fill specific niches in food supply, and help attract customers with unique requirements?
• Beyond environmental benefits, how can CEA provide ESG wins through growing targeted nutrition for medical patients who have traditionally been less able to access fresh, healthy foods?
• Where are the opportunities for CEA’s versatility to be used to grow ingredients and nutrients to use food as medicine?

Moderator:
Rob Steele, Managing Director, BANK OF AMERICA

Speakers:
Sean Walsh, North American Director Fruits and Vegetables, GORDON FOOD SERVICE
Tobias Peggs, CEO, SQUARE ROOTS

• The year has already witnessed several investments in the CEA sector. What are the expectations of investors for the remainder of 2024 and forward into 2025?
• How have the last two years impacted valuations in indoor farming, and can this contribute to the development of a more mature start-up community for the CEA sector?
• What specific factors do investors now require from indoor operators and tech suppliers to instill enough confidence to allocate their funds to the sector?
• Which funding models can be utilized across the sector, and how can investors play a role in scaling sustainable food production through indoor farms?

Moderator: 
Rob Dongoski, Partner, KEARNEY, USA

Speakers:
Nick Houshower, Managing Director, EQUILIBRIUM CAPITAL
Johanna Waterous, Senior Advisor, Sustainable Food Group, COFRA
Stephan Dolezalek, Managing Partner, GROSVENOR FOOD & AGTECH
Randall Lewis, Managing Partner, CLEVELAND AVENUE

• Where can growers access alternative sources of funding, such as rebates, tax incentives and government grants to mitigate the costs of on-farm investments?
• How are national, regional and local authorities engaging to support growers with labor, site selection, and incentives for expansion?
• In what ways can growers collaborate with utilities to access rebate programs for hardware upgrades to help reduce energy costs and demand?

Moderator:
Sara Lea Neagu-Reed, Director of Production & Environmental Policy, IFPA

Speakers:
Matthew Lohr, Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
Colin O’Neil, Senior Director of Public Policy & Social Impact, BOWERY FARMING
Deborah Koh, Director Industry Devt & Community Partnership, SFA
Aftab Alam, Lead Scientist, SILAL

• In the face of climate volatility and supply chain instability, how can indoor farming develop critical regional food supply security and transform the food supply chain, providing sustainable, year-round, locally grown produce?
• How can indoor farming more rapidly scale to have the level of impact needed to transform the global food system? What new approaches to funding are needed to support this capital-intensive expansion? How do you approach developing an operating model that scales efficiently and effectively?

Speakers:
Arama Kukutai, CEO, PLENTY
Kashif Shamsi, Group Chief Executive Officer, MAWARID

• Where are policies coming into effect that will force farmers to lower emissions on-farm?
• When managing CO2 in the farm, what solutions are there to offering consistent, cost-effective and sustainable supply to help boost plant growth and reduce impact?
• How can growers ensure a return on their investments when looking to build more sustainable farms?

Moderator:
Tom Stenzel, Executive Director, CEA ALLIANCE

Speakers:
Rob van Straten, CEO, SKYTREE
Jon Lomow, CEO, FIELDLESS

Two presenters will share insights into smart farm operation platforms and how they have applied machine learning and AI to indoor produce growing. Following the case studies, a shared Q&A will take place.

• At what stage of the growing cycle is machine learning being successfully applied to enhance efficiency and minimize labor costs?
• How effective are farm-management platforms in enabling early interventions for crop health, pest control and climate controls?
• What potential does generative AI hold for optimizing operations within vertical farms and greenhouses?
• Given the importance of data quality for autonomous platforms, how can tech suppliers collaborate with growers to ensure data inputs facilitate informed insights and interventions?

Moderator:
Bas Duijvestijn, CCO, VANDERHOEVEN

Presenters:
Gilwoo Lee, Founder & CEO, ZORDI
Adam Greenberg, CEO, IUNU

• In the drive for sound unit economics, where are the easy wins for growers to increase the sustainability of their businesses and crop production?
• How is hardware innovation such as lighting, HVAC and greenhouse screens giving growers control over growing conditions and energy consumption?
• What are the opportunities for indoor farms to strategically integrate renewable energy generation to meet their operational needs?
• How can growers match the right equipment to their operations to complement the facility design and climate conditions of their farms?

Moderator:
Glenn Behrman, Founder & President, CEA ADVISORS

Speakers:
Dick Kramp, CEO, AB GREENHOUSE POWER
Edward Verbakel, CEO, VB GROUP
Louis Brun, CEO & Co-Founder, SOLLUM TECHNOLOGIES
Halton Peters, Co-Founder & President, HARDEE FRESH

• How are NGOs, governments and private organizations working together to help build common standards for energy management and resource use in indoor farming?
• What obstacles do organizations face in sharing data and how could collective action and transparency drive innovation, sustainability, and industry advancement?

Presenters:
Derek Smith, Executive Director, RII
Rory Schmick, Senior Technical Advisor, LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY

Two start-ups seeking to fill product niches will pitch on stage, followed by an exploratory Q&A from our investor panellists.

Investor:
Gentiane Gorlier, General Partner, THE YIELD LAB

Pitching Start-Ups:
Luc Lalire, CEO, MYCOLOGIC
Rodrigo Santana, CEO, BERITECH

• Mushroom farming has seen a wave of interest for high-tech farming applications, how are entrepreneurs capitalizing on this to bring quality produce into the hands of consumers?
• Is high-tech indoor farming currently providing high enough returns to disrupt conventional mushroom production or is it still restricted to specialty varieties and business models?
• With specialty mushroom varieties commanding higher prices, how can growers capitalize on new varieties and niche markets to increase revenues?
• How is technology development in mushroom growing allowing for more efficient and profitable production of mushrooms?

Moderator:
Alex Corbacho, Partner, PAINE SCHWARTZ PARTNERS

Speakers:
Joe Weber, Founder & President, FOUR STAR MUSHROOMS
Sean O’Connor, CEO, 4AG ROBOTICS
John James Staniszewski, Founder & Co-Owner, WINDY CITY MUSHROOM~
Amir Karian, GM, MONTEREY MUSHROOMS

• To mitigate the risks of capital market fluctuations, how can established indoor growers find innovative funding models to guarantee resources for operational expansion?
• From infrastructure funds, to conglomerate investment and traditional funding methods, how can growers find the right funding models and partnerships for their growth plans?

Moderator:
Adam Bergman, Managing Director, ECOTECH CAPITAL

Speakers:
Gingee Prince, Managing Director, ENHANCED CAPITAL
Marc Khouzami, Managing Director, Impact Investing, BMO
Sue Yang-Krochmal, Investment Director – NextGen, ANTIN INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS
Elan Kramer, VP, GENERATE CAPITAL