2026 Program Preview
2026 builds on everything attendees loved about the inaugural event, with expanded back to back workshops, streamlined programming, additional networking opportunities, and more time spent learning inside real cultivation environments.
Day 1 / Friday
Hands-on workshops focused on cultivation, IPM, environmental controls, soil systems, and facility operations. Guided greenhouse and facility tours of Collective Elevation's living soil operation, followed by a Friday evening welcome mixer.
Day 2 / Saturday
A full day of cultivation-focused presentations, technical talks, research, panels, and live on site demos. Expanded vendor engagement and product demonstrations throughout the day, ending with an evening sensory experience and industry social.
Day 3 / Sunday
Additional talks, discussions, demos, and closing giveaways. A final chance to connect with speakers, sponsors, and attendees before flying home.
Friday, August 29
Friday is a full day of back-to-back hands-on workshops inside Collective Elevation's living soil facility, followed by facility tours, vendor village, and the evening welcome mixer.
Data-driven cultivation is the key to scaling a commercial facility without sacrificing quality. In this interactive, live-demonstration workshop, Bryant Mason of Soil Doctor Consulting moves out of the classroom and into the field to show you exactly how to track the health of your crop and soil in real time. Through live walk-throughs, Bryant will demonstrate standard operating procedures for taking accurate laboratory samples, leveraging advanced sensor technology, and tracking environmental variables.
Early detection is the best defense against crop-destroying pathogens. In this hands-on workshop, Plant Pathologist Dr. Nicole Gauthier will equip growers, agronomists, and field managers with the essential toolkit for effective crop scouting. Participants will learn how to differentiate between biotic diseases and abiotic "look-alikes," master field diagnostic tools, and implement structured scouting schedules.
When a grow room runs into trouble, most cultivators start guessing — losing time, money, and yield. Join Tad Hussey and Brandon Hudson for a fast-paced, 30-minute forensic breakdown of a grow space using a Dichotomous Key — a reliable, step-by-step decision tree — to eliminate guesswork and isolate the root cause of your issues.
Join Suzanne Wainwright-Evans (aka "The Buglady") for a practical deep-dive into the most common insects, mites, and pests plaguing modern cannabis production. Drawing on more than 35 years of experience, Suzanne will guide you through pest identification, biology, and cutting-edge management strategies including biological control agents, biopesticides, and reduced-risk control methods. The workshop concludes with an open Q&A session.
Kick off the conference with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Collective Elevation, Montana's largest living-soil cultivation facility. Hosted in small groups and led by the Collective Elevation cultivation team, this tour takes you through their sun-assisted greenhouses and outdoor production fields to see how they manage biodiversity, organic fertility, and commercial-scale living soil systems in a working production environment. Along the way, you'll experience how modern cultivation combines biological principles with advanced facility design. Explore Collective Elevation's state-of-the-art DeCloet greenhouses, featuring cutting-edge climate control and environmental systems, before heading to the processing floor to see the Hefestus automated pre-roll machine in action as part of a high-volume commercial workflow. Whether you're looking to scale your living soil operation, improve greenhouse efficiency, or better understand commercial automation, this interactive tour offers a rare opportunity to ask questions, learn directly from the cultivation team, and see these systems operating together in a real-world facility.
Saturday, August 29
Saturday brings technical talks, on site demos, and the Tasting Montana evening experience — from lab science to living soil nutrition to an evening of community and sensory exploration.
For cultivators, a lab result on a piece of paper can feel like an absolute verdict on your livelihood - but in reality, those numbers are far more fluid than they appear. In this presentation, Jared Nieuwenhuis of Cannabis ChemLab demystifies the analytical science behind your compliance certificates to help you regain control over your data. This session breaks down the mechanics of potency inflation, calibration variance, and heavy metal testing, arming you with the right questions to ask your testing facility. You'll learn how to identify hidden environmental variables in the grow room, design a better sampling strategy, and know exactly when a result warrants a re-test.
The world of integrated pest management is evolving rapidly, with new technologies, smarter biological formulations, and advanced tracking tools emerging every year. In this forward-looking session, Suzanne Wainwright-Evans ("The Buglady") steps away from the basics to deliver a high-level update on the cutting edge of cannabis pest control. Discover the latest breakthroughs in advanced biocontrol agents, innovative application technologies, and next-generation monitoring tools designed to optimize facility efficiency and crop health. Whether you are managing a large-scale commercial footprint or a boutique craft facility, this presentation will show you how to leverage modern innovation to stay compliant, reduce labor costs, and keep your canopy pristine. Come find out what's new, what's actually working, and what's coming next to the commercial market.
Beaker & Wrench
Live Short Path Distillation Demo
Beaker & Wrench will run a live crude distillation on the BW-12L Short Path, a compact system built for small-batch processors. Their team will be on site throughout to answer questions, whether you're just curious about short path distillation or ready to scale your own process. After the demo, attendees can sit down one-on-one with their CEO to map out how the BW-12L fits into their specific workflow, and will receive a personalized process planning sheet by email to reference later. Visit www.beakerandwrench.com or follow on Instagram to see more distillation content.
Dramm
Efficient Chemical/Biorational Application Techniques For Improving Your IPM Program
This hands-on demonstration will review how droplet particle size and equipment choice impact application efficiency within your IPM program. Learn how high volume, low volume and ultra-low volume equipment are chosen based on the pest/disease, chemistry type and plant growth stage, plus tips on better techniques for improved coverage. Dramm will also review the necessary maintenance to keep equipment operating properly to provide optimal droplet size.
Bioworks
Biopesticides: Tips, Tricks and Insights
Join Michael Brownbridge as he shares practical insights into microbial biopesticides and beneficial microorganisms. Ever wondered what microbial control agents look like while they're growing, how to tell if they're viable, or which products can be mixed to maximize efficacy? Learn best practices for selecting, mixing, and applying biological crop protection products for the best possible results.
Unlock the full genetic potential of your canopy while mastering the complexities of living soil. In this deep-dive session, Bryant Mason of Soil Doctor Consulting breaks down the science and strategy of advanced organic nutrient management, moving beyond basic amendments to explore precise, data-driven cultivation techniques. This talk bridges the gap between biological soil science and practical, commercial application. Attendees will walk away with actionable insights to optimize their feeding regimens, refine their nitrogen strategies, and overcome the unique challenges of mid-cycle crop steering. Finally, the session will challenge how you think about cultivation by exploring the cognitive biases that often cloud our understanding of complex agronomic systems.
Saturday Evening — The Night's Main Event
Three days of cultivation education, networking, workshops, and facility access. Out-of-state attendees should book travel early.
