Every year I revise a quick survey to get more information about what's happening out in the CEA universe (would that be the CEAU, like the MCU?) I’ve got it ready and I would love for you to participate. It takes between 5 and 7 minutes, and is completely anonymous—all the data will be compiled to show a broader picture of the overall industry.

I will say that in the past I haven’t had a lot of participation in this. I get it—everyone is super busy. Answering these questions helps you, though, because if you tell me what information you need to know, I can provide it. It helps me home in on the topics we should be focusing on in the newsletter, in the quarterly print supplement and on our website, www.inside-grower.com.

So please carve out some time and provide your answers at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TGDXZG7

Thank you in advance for your help!

I recently received a notice that Contain Inc., a data company that specializes in the indoor farming segment, issued a recap of 2022, so I took a peek at it. The report held some interesting notes about last year, including the fundraising that did and didn’t happen in the CEA space.

For example, the report showed venture capital investment was down by 37% over the previous year, according to statistics from CB Insight. Those numbers were down over a record-setting investment year, though, the report points out. Private funding came in around $1 billion, which also was down from 2021.

 
Though funding slowed in 2022, the U.S. is still seeing the largest amount of investment in CEA production, according to Contain Inc.

The report noted there was a sharp uptick in mergers and acquisitions on the vendor side, with greenhouse manufacturers, controls and automation companies seeing more consolidation. That consolidation happened, too, for farms and Contain expects to see more of that in 2023.

A few more nuggets include the outlook for 2023, both positive and negative:

Those negatives include “more farms and tech closures as funding becomes ever more scarce and the economy worsens,” the company writes, with the biggest impact possibly on higher-end restaurant suppliers.

One positive is supermarkets are likely to stay stable in relation to a recession, which helps out CEA growers.

Something that’s not positive, but will impact CEA growers, is continued environmental issues with field growers, which will require other growers to fill in the supply gaps.

Those are only a few of the insights from the report. You can download the report for free with registration on the website.

There are only a few more weeks left to secure a flight to Las Vegas and pick a hotel (there’s definitely no shortage there) to jump in on Indoor Ag-Con, a trade show and conference for the indoor growing segment, February 27-28. Check it out and register here.

The conference has some excellent speakers and panelists, and I’m looking forward to hosting one Tuesday from 3:30 – 4:20 p.m. on “Trends—Creating a New Category for CEA.” The panelists, listed below, will be talking about how greenhouse and vertical farms can make their mark at the supermarket and clearly communicate the value of indoor-grown products to consumers. Join us and hear these folks’ take on it:

Mark Gagnon, Senior Vice President of Sales, Kalera, Inc.

Alexander Olesen, CEO & Co-Founder, Babylon Micro-Farms, Inc.

Dave Vosburg, Chief Innovation Officer, Local Bounti

That’s only one session out of many, too. There will be discussions on automation and AI, strawberry production, government regulation in CEA, debates on vertical versus greenhouse, building alliances and working together, as well as the nitty gritty of lighting, nutrients, root zone health and more. There are also two keynotes, one each day, from these impressive speakers:

Arama Kukutai, CEO of Plenty

Dave Chen, CEO of Equilibrium

While there you can explore the trade show floor, which has doubled this year in Indoor Ag-Con’s 10^th year. You can check out the exhibitor list here. The show is co-located with the National Grocers Association (NGA) show, too, and an Indoor Ag-Con registration will get you access to the show floor at NGA. There are discounts for NGA’s educational events, too.

The Indoor Ag-Con show will take place at the Caesars Forum Conference Center, and it’s really important to note that it is NOT inside the Caesars Palace or The Forum Shops at Caesars. It’s behind the Linq Resort (here’s the address: 3911 Koval Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89109).

See you there!

Sustainability is often one of the most important tenants of CEA production and a real selling point to consumers. So how can you make your operation more sustainable?

Prospiant aims to help you with a webinar scheduled for TODAY, Thursday, January 26 (I know, I’m sorry for the late notice) at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. If this didn’t make it to you in time, the webinar will appear as an on-demand video on the website linked below shortly after.

The company offers its own experts, Burk Metzger, general manager of produce; Tony Abbas, strategy & business development manager; Joe Slikboer, estimate manager; and an outside expert in Stefan Eggers, the ESG Director for the BOAL Group in the Netherlands.

Sign up for free here.

The good folks at the University of Arizona Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC) always have something cooking to help educate the CEA industry and this winter is no exception. They're holding the annual Greenhouse Crop Production & Engineering Design Short Course March 15-17.

Attendees can join the event both in-person and online this year, but there's limited in-person seating, so if you want to be there live, register soon. The three-day conference includes lectures presented by academics and industry experts, as well as tours of CEAC facilities and networking. You can see the whole schedule here.

 Visit the CEAC’s website for more details and to register.