[Stond_Face]

I'm on the ferry, on the way home.

As far as trade shows and industry conferences go, NECANN still needs to mature a bit. IMO.
The AV in the lectures was mixed. Too low volume on one stage. Booming volume from another. I didn't hear any really new content. But, maybe I just missed the good stuff about

The exhibition area was cool. Lots of vendors. Everything from automated greenhouse management systems. To guys selling pipes they make in thier machine shops.

Weather was rough in town on Saturday. Sunday was beautiful though.

I'd like to go back next year. Maybe also go to Maine show in October

[Muleskinner]

agree on the AV stuff, last year most of the talks were in separate conference rooms, not the jury-rigged cubicle system where it was this year.

AFAIK they are not paying the speakers, they could massively upgrade the quality of presentations by paying honorariums to speakers.

Some of the better exhibitors didn't seem to be there this year, Leafly for example, Gavita, I wonder why. I still had a good time, I handed out 100+ free seedpacks and met some interesting growers. There was an exhibitor selling seeds and very busy. I think that's currently illegal. Hopefully this convention will eventually include selling of cannabis products, seeds, and clones, that would transform the whole event into something much bigger.

I'd like to see a party/muscial event for Saturday night as well.

[Stond_Face]

There were a couple guys selling seeds.
I didn't expect that.
I grabbed a 5 seed breeder pack of TGA seeds for 60 bucks

[Dr. Amapola]

Originally Posted by Muleskinner

yes, I went last year [...] It's 99% people who are not professional growers.

I'm really glad that folks are organizing events like this but the lack of professionals to talk to is kind of a bummer. I think it's excellent though, and hopefully if we can continue to convince the authorities to leave us alone then maybe in the future there will be more pro growers showing up to these events.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for getting like-minded people together. But there's definitely a certain novelty about growing cannabis right now among the citizens of The Commonwealth. It's new, it used to be illegal, and there are TONS of people interested in it. Some are just curious, others want to try growing for the first time just for fun, some people see it as a way to make fast cash (IMO they're the worst kind; don't feed the animals), and some want professional advice. Either way, it's something new and in time I hope to see a nice "scene" developing out of the truly passionate and dedicated growers.

[bsgospel]

The Pro Grower show is right here on IC and all they do is argue lol

Having worked with a lot of stores and dispensary/vendor ilk, a little joke got started:

Q: How many Master Growers does it take to fill a grow with neuroses?
A: How many ya got?

[Muleskinner]

Originally Posted by Dr. Amapola

I'm really glad that folks are organizing events like this but the lack of professionals to talk to is kind of a bummer. I think it's excellent though, and hopefully if we can continue to convince the authorities to leave us alone then maybe in the future there will be more pro growers showing up to these events.

Urban-Gro was there, and many other vendors who sell exclusively to industry. All of them were professional. It sounds like you might enjoy joining one of the trade associations that have cropped up in Mass. They would host regular meetings and events exclusively for industry pro's.

But many, if not most, vendors at NECANN serve the commercial industry. Many of them turned me away when I talked to them. For example I asked a couple of the extraction companies what their minimum amount to process were, and they pretty much laughed at me and said our clients generally pull up to the loading dock with truckloads of trim material! They weren't interesting in extracting a few mason jars for me....