Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) has spent the last several years expanding, evolving, and testing new approaches to production. This November, the focus turns to what comes next: building greenhouse produce businesses that will last.
Article sponsored by CEAg World
CEAg World Conference & Expo returns November 10-11 in Charlotte-Concord, N.C., with a program centered on stronger, more resilient growing operations. Across the CEA industry, growers are navigating tighter margins, changing markets, rising costs, and rapidly evolving technology while making increasingly deliberate decisions about where to invest and how to grow. This year’s program is built around those decisions and what it takes to build a CEA business for the long term.
Sessions That Get Straight to the Point
The 2026 agenda goes deep on business fundamentals. Paul Sellew, CEO of Little Leaf Farms, headlines a management session that gets straight to point about workforce development and labor. Jim Kras, CEO of Edible Garden, tackles diversification beyond core CEA crops, a strategy more operators are leaning on. And Trevor Gibson of Equinox Growers digs into profitability and capital, two issues on every grower’s mind.
Food safety gets serious attention too. Monica Noble, former VP of Quality and Safety at 80 Acres Farms and chair of the CEA Alliance’s Food Safety Working Group, leads a session on the FSMA steps growers need to take now.
For growers who are newer to CEA, Connor Murphy of Goodness Gardens explains how to assess your technology needs realistically. Other experienced growers, including Eric Highfield from Haven Greens, will help you troubleshoot production issues with crops including tomatoes, leafy greens, and specialty produce.
The Buyers Are In the Room
One of the most anticipated sessions on the schedule is “The Buyers Are In,” featuring Yan Branco, a senior produce buyer at Sobeys in Canada, and other retail and wholesale produce distributors. This panel discussion puts CEA operators face to face with the people deciding what makes it onto the shelf.
Sustainability gets a business case, too, not just a feel-good pitch. Kait Bowdler of Cox Farms leads a session on sustainability practices that actually save money, turning sustainability from an aspiration into a practical business strategy.
The Keynote
Jonna Parker of Circana opens the conference with a keynote on consumer trends reshaping produce, setting the tone for everything that follows. It’s the kind of outside-in perspective growers don’t get enough of: what shoppers actually want, straight from the data.
Why This One Matters
CEAg World has always been where CEA’s most important conversations happen. This year, that means fewer buzzwords and more of what actually works: real numbers, real buyers, and real strategies for building something that lasts.
November 10-11. Charlotte-Concord, NC. Registration and the full agenda are live now.
