VertiFarm début to feature wide variety of topics and products

VertiFarm, the new trade show for next-level farming and new food systems, will be taking place at Messe Dortmund between 27 and 29 September 2022, presenting the world's first business and information event for tomorrow's sustainable cultivation and breeding methods.

Dortmund, 27 September 2022 - Vertical farming and new food systems are already a global topic of future importance and represent a fast-moving, vibrant market with innovative start-ups and large corporations joining forces to drive the development of vertical farming in urban areas, and safeguard and maximise yields without neglecting ecological and social factors. With its new VertiFarm event - the first and only show dedicated to next-level farming and new food systems - Messe Dortmund is pulling together a whole host of knowledge, technology and development work, and is enabling people to engage and network on this trending topic at one of Germany's key logistics locations between 27 and 29 September 2022.

The conceptual partner behind the new show is the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF). This world-leading non-profit organisation aids the sustainable growth and development of the indoor/vertical farming movement by means of in-depth dialogue and partnership-based collaboration. This year, the association's annual congress - AVF SUMMIT 2022 - will also be held in Dortmund for the first time as part of VertiFarm.

The German Agricultural Society (DLG) is the show's technical partner. The international trade organisation for the agricultural, food and agri-food sector is using its subject-matter expertise in innovative agricultural production systems and in the transformation of agriculture to help mastermind this year's specialist programme.

International line-up of exhibitors
The new VertiFarm show is an international hub for next-level farming and new food systems, offering solution tactics for addressing global issues such as security of supply, crop failures, food supplements, energy efficiency and urban sustainability. The three-day exhibition will present product innovations and systems in a comprehensive showcase for vertical farming.

The international mix of exhibitors from Germany, Sweden, the UK, China, the US, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, Canada and other countries is pretty impressive. Among those who have confirmed their participation are Hoogendoorn, a global innovator in automated horticulture, and Bosman van Zaal, a point of contact for plant production systems in the food, floriculture and pharmaceutical sectors. Indoor farming network partner Cultivatdand photobiology and systems integration company Intravision Group will also be demonstrating their expertise. Seoul Semiconducter, a leading supplier of LED products and technologies, MABEWO GREENTOCUBE, a developer of innovative indoor farming systems, TTA with machines for processing and sorting plants, and Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS), a platform specialist for optimum climatic conditions, will also be exhibiting at the show.

They will be joined by Dexion from Romania with smart storage solutions, Würth Elektronik whose offering includes horticultural LED lighting components, and German start-up vGreens who will be focusing on vertical strawberry horticulture. Also coming to Dortmund from abroad will be Fujian Sananbio Technology, a Chinese expert in climate control and illumination of planting areas and a provider of various planting systems, and Canobi AgTech from Canada, a global platform for integrated monitoring and automation technology.

Swedish company GrowPipes should also be of interest. It supplies a highly scalable vertical farming solution that can maximise any growing space - whether for a small residential unit or for large commercial greenhouse systems. Weiss Klimatechnik will be showing efficient climate solutions for tomorrow's agriculture, and Italian exhibitor IGROX will be bringing cutting-edge LED technology to the show.

The new VertiFarm is also an innovative platform for start-ups and young businesses: HarvestAi will be providing information on forecasting models for indoor farms to predict harvest date and yield. AABSOO's proposition includes climate-controlled agriculture, scalability of urban farming in greenhouses, resource efficiency and monitoring, and exciting insights will also be on offer from InvertiGro, 'Australian AgriPreneur 2021', with plug-and-play solutions for sustainable and affordable food production. The company elements green Deutschland, founded just this year, will be presenting renewable energy solutions. Table systems, container systems, irrigation systems and watering trolleys used in Germany and other European countries will be shown by KNECHT from the south German town of Metzingen,and RHENAC Green Tec AG will be joining the exhibitor line-up, presenting its diverse range of energy-efficient LED lighting and control systems for optimum plant growth. View list of exhibitors

Top-class supporting programme
The three-day stage programme will include educational, partly interactive knowledge modules and will be complemented by superb content at the AVF Summit 2022 (27 to 29 September in the 'Kongress' conference area) and the Retail Day (28 September). Keynote talks and discussion panels featuring experts in agriculture, science, industry and start-up businesses will address the future of food and agriculture - from foodstuffs to pharmaceuticals - as it goes through this period of transition. Click here for a full overview of the entire three-day programme.

Wide-ranging subject matter at the AVF SUMMIT 2022
The Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) will be holding its annual conference this year at the Messe Dortmund Congress Centre between 27 and 29 September in parallel with the first-ever VertiFarm. The conference will be attended by highly regarded industry professionals, researchers and investors from all over the world who will be here to network, engage and develop innovative ideas and concepts.

Under the heading of Unifying New Food Systems - To grow out of niche, the planned topics are synergies with existing infrastructure, geographical trends, future food systems, the symbiosis of science and industry, and sponsorship for success. At the SUMMIT, the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) will also address such topics as technology innovation, new food systems, financing change, holistic business models and consumer adoption regarding insects, fungi, cell meats, algae bioreactors, fermentation, AI, robotics and automation with a view to promoting a sustainable, resilient and human-centred industry.

AVF SUMMIT 2022 - programme summary

27 September 2022
Subject: Planting seeds
Panel discussions and presentations involving industry experts, researchers, government representatives and investors from around the world

28 September 2022
Subject: Optimising yield
Workshops and seminars on new technologies, also addressing aspects such as commercialisation and legislation

29 September 2022
Subject: Reaping what we sow
Networking via electronic booking system with future business partners and investors

Retail Day - Supporting retailers & resellers
The Retail Day is being held in collaboration with the North Rhine Westphalia Retailers' Association and the retail sector's climate protection campaign on 28 September. Between 12:30 and 14:30 hrs, retailers will be able to discover innovations and trends, the market situation and business models as well as financing opportunities and consumer expectations of this new economic sector and learn how these can help their businesses. In view of vulnerable supply chains and rising energy prices, this is set to become increasingly important, especially for food retailers. What are the current obstacles? What potential do the various models offer? What overall environment needs to be created? Retailers will be given answers to these issues at the Retail Day from a wide variety of recognised speakers and with the aid of real-life examples.

The Retail Day will kick off with brunch and then highlight the potential of vertical farming for food retailing, followed by a guided tour of selected companies. From noon onwards, the programme continues with panel discussions and expert presentations on the main topics of food safety, architecture, building law, urban development, energy efficiency, safeguarding supply of foodstuffs, and best practice.

Retail Day - programme overview

11:00 hrs
Brunch - with an introduction to the opportunities of vertical farming for food retailers

11:45 hrs
Guided tour of selected suppliers

12:30 hrs
PANEL DISCUSSION - Year-round assurance of regional produce in food retailing - challenges and opportunities for vertical farming
Speaker:           Claas Ahrens, vGreens
Speaker:           Stefan Thabe, Section Head (Head of Department) in the Urban Planning & Buildings Department at Dortmund Municipal Authority 
Speaker:           Carola Katharina Herbst, Project Manager, Food Technology in the German Agricultural Society's Food Competence Center

13:00 hrs
"Best practice examples & feasibility of VF in the retail sector - buildings and architecture / energy efficiency and safeguarding supply of foodstuffs"
Speaker:           Buildings and Architecture / Nicolas Leschke, Founder of ECF Farmsystems 
Speaker:           Energy Efficiency / Elise Djoufac Woumfo, Energy Consultant for Residential
and Non-Residential Buildings
Speaker:           Safeguarding supply of foodstuffs / Carola K. Herbst, Project Manager, Food Technology in the German Agricultural Society's Food Competence Center

14:00 hrs
Final round-up involving all Retail Day speakers

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Stage programme - 29 September 2022

On the last day of the show, well-known speakers will talk about innovative business and product strategies and provide inspiration and case studies for thought-provoking ideas on vertical farming. The day will end with a panel discussion on how to encourage university partnerships for better networking between start-ups, businesses, students and academia.

Topic block "Business strategies & product diversification"
11:00 hrs
Keynote talk: "Enabling innovation in vertical farming"
Speaker:           Alexander Genfer, CTO of Würth Elektronik eiSos Group

11:30 hrs
"Advantages and challenges when delivering full turnkey solutions"
Speaker:           Maarten Vandecruys of Urban Crop Solutions

12:00 hrs
"Produce flexibility in vertical farming - a practical use case"
Speaker:           Martin Molenaar of Avisomo AS

12:30 hrs
"Carbon economics"
Speaker:           Rob van Straten of Skytree

13:00 hrs
Panel discussion "Pushing university collaboration"
Speaker:           Yu-Mi Lee of EIT Food Central GmbH 
Speaker:           Prof. Jasper den Besten from HAS University 
Speaker:           Dr. Saeid Mobini, Ph.D. in Horticulture and Plant,
Phytotron Manager at Queen's University, Ontario, Canada

14:15 hrs
Close

All the latest key information, updates and developments concerning the show can be found on LinkedIn, Facebookand Instagram, on the show's website and via newsletter.

Source: HortiBiz