"Demand for locally grown produce will only grow"

Dan Plant, Co-Founder and Co-President of Calgary, Alberta-based indoor farming company MVP Farms, is joining the Indoor Ag-Con 2019 Conference lineup’s Business Track, where he will be speaking on “Spotting A Great Location.”

When he and his business partner, Matt Vanderberg, first started searching for opportunities back in 2016, they set some key constraints.

“We came at this from an asset management perspective and, like anyone else, have an affinity for recession-proof businesses selling into deep markets. So, capital-intensive, controllable and predictable food production had a ton of appeal,” Dan explains. “But more importantly, we thought back to the time each of us had spent working on farms and hanging out with farmers. Again, the technology, facility construction, operations management are all super cool features of this venture, but it is the quality of produce and the direct connection to our customers, making them happy through fresh food that will sustain us for decades. We don’t want to work for another company ever again.”

“We are not going to rush into anything. And we are not going to do anything that isn’t technically superb,” Dan adds. “The demand for locally grown produce will only grow and the technology will only improve. It’s not to suggest that timeliness is irrelevant, it certainly isn’t, but we want to ensure that when we open for business that we have a system that is scalable, backed by superb production technologies and scientific expertise, and a business model that will allow us to expand regionally. And when I say scalable, that also includes a scalable business model—working with sales channel partners that have simple unencumbered access to the deep sources of demand. We’ve got funding in place for our first facility and are currently in the process of developing the grow and automation equipment.”

The organizers of Indoor Ag-Con checked in with Dan recently to learn more about thoughts around the industry, food safety regulations and future plans for his growing company. Read the interview here.

Indoor Ag-Con heads to Red Rock Resort from May 22-24, 2019 for its 7th annual Las Vegas edition. Themed “Growing the Future,” this year’s event moves to a new location and welcomes a number of new features, including a special hemp spotlight, exclusive white paper release, expanded exhibition floor and conference schedule.