Here's Why This Vertical Farming Expert Transitioned from Grower to Supporter

Editor’s Note: The following article includes information from an interview between Agritecture and Kevin Biernacki, Regional Sales Manager and Grower Liaison at Montel.

Written by: Sarah Jordan and Isabelle Dom

It's been well-established that more experienced growers are needed in the burgeoning indoor ag sector. As a result, some companies are looking to scoop up talent from the cannabis industry which has many overlaps, but also some key differences, with indoor food production.

One person who has recently made this shift is Kevin Biernacki. With over 20 years of experience, Biernacki has a wealth of knowledge on growing and vertical farming. Now, Kevin uses his expertise to help other growers in his new role with vertical farming solutions provider Montel.

Kevin’s Story

Biernacki began his career in the cannabis industry as a grower in Humboldt, California, the epicenter of the cannabis world at the time. He dedicated the majority of his professional life to this endeavor.

After working in California, Biernacki moved back to his hometown of Las Vegas to develop The Grove, a cannabis dispensary and grow facility. The Grove focuses on providing natural, vertically farmed cannabis products. Kevin helped to develop the 26,600 sq. ft. indoor facility, which, in his words, was the most state-of-the-art cannabis facility in the world at the time of its founding. 

The Grove was early to the LED technology game, using only LED lights to grow crops, and also to the vertical farming market, which was in its infancy at the time. Biernacki recalls his time there as very experimental and exciting, and he enjoyed pushing boundaries in the industry.

In early 2022, Biernacki made a major career shift when he accepted a role with Montel as their new Grower Liaison and Regional Sales Manager in Western North America. As Biernacki tells it, he was excited about the opportunity to spend less time in grow facilities and more time on the business end of operating indoor farms. “It was nice to move into sales and be able to immediately get to travel and see new things and cultivations and see new stuff that's happening.”

Reflecting on the Past and Considering the Future for Cannabis

Biernacki believes that despite having worked in the field for decades, the cannabis industry is still nascent and has great potential for growth. “Shortly after Las Vegas legalized cannabis, it was such a new market that everyone still had this kind of basement or garage mentality of how to operate. There's nothing like operating a full, industrial-size operation. What's changed more than anything is the understanding of how to go from several hundred plants to several thousand plants at a time.”

In Biernacki’s opinion, “Legalization is coming soon. We [guess] that this is going to happen every year, but I do think states are now realizing that it's not that difficult to open up the market.” He thinks that legalization could help to boost cannabis production to an even larger scale. He mused that perhaps “there'll be certain states that will dominate the entire market and just export, or each state could decide on its own course of action.”

Biernacki also predicts that cannabis growers will move into food production, too. This is already happening in some places, especially with the proliferation of indoor-grown microgreens. Biernacki sees it as a “natural progression,” as cannabis growers already have the farming skills needed to succeed in indoor agriculture.

Why Montel?

Growers, including Biernacki, often choose Montel racking because they produce high-quality products with a proven track record. “I think the rack quality is probably superior to every other company that I've seen,” he says. Both the quality and exceptional customer service kept him loyal to Montel racking throughout his years as a grower. 

Having worked with the Montel team throughout his career, Biernacki developed both a deep relationship with the company and a great amount of respect for the work that they do. “Montel’s team of engineers is always working to further the vertical farming field.” And, according to Biernacki, an important part of their success is that the team has the drive to create innovative solutions to specific grower problems. So, when the opportunity to work for Montel presented itself, it was an easy choice for him.

The Role of Vertical Farming – and Montel – in the Future of Food

Looking forward to future development in the field, Biernacki says, “The only way to go is up.” He predicts that indoor, vertical farms will become an everyday reality for city dwellers but also knows the industry has a long way to go. To help spur this growth, Kevin shares that Montel, already hyper-focused on maximizing space through their mobile racking solutions, has a new set of products in development focused specifically on indoor, vertical food cultivation. 

They are also carefully considering the global market for vertical farming and believe that vertical farming will also play a role in Europe’s food future. To hear more from Biernacki and learn more about the opportunities, challenges, and predictions for Europe’s vertical farming market, join us for a webinar on October 4 at 10:00 am EDT.