On Friday, April 10, more than 600 gathered at Best Buy HQ in Richfield for the return of FASTcon: Food, Ag, Sustainability & Supply Chain in Tech Conference. Survey data shows more than 87% of participants rated the conference as Excellent or Very Good.

“It’s been seven years, and the stars aligned for Abhishek (Roy) and I to put this specialty conference together again,” said Conference Chair John Hogue. “It shows that where there is passion and drive, the community provides. And MinneAnalytics makes it happen.”

The schedule boasted more than 50 speakers on a vast range of topics, with a strong emphasis on the ways data science and AI are being operationalized across these industries. As usual for a MinneAnalytics event, the amount of knowledge shared was staggering.

“I love that FASTCon can inspire highly-accredited scientists and engineers to share their experiences with their peers. I saw so many great talks about supply chain optimization, unseen futures, plant imaging and GenAI,” said Samantha Schumacher, a vice chair of the conference. “A wonderful tribute to the amazing work that is happening across the field and, specifically, here in Minneapolis. What a great place to do scientific work!”

The first edition of FASTcon was organized in 2019 in a very different world. However, some of the challenges discussed were still familiar.

“It was great to see a mix of new and old faces at FASTcon, including companies. Interesting to see how much further the industry has moved in seven years – it’s almost unrecognizable,” said Hogue. “That said, there seems to be the perennial issues of selecting the right projects, driving adoption, and governing the solution afterwards.”

The Startup Showcase, another stalwart of MinneAnalytics events, was especially engaging at FASTcon 2026. In addition to ten innovative startups, the session hosted three special guest speakers. Read MinneAnalytics Board Member Graeme Thickins review of that session.

Of course, what really makes MinneAnalytics events so special are the connections among peers in the community. Conference Vice Chair Rachael Cassleman summed it up perfectly: “After years of attending, the number of personal connections at the event filled me with a sense of community and hope for our profession.”

Thank you to everyone who participated at FASTcon 2026, especially our tireless conference organizers John Hogue, Abhishek Roy, Rachael Cassleman, Ralph Asher, Samantha Schumacher, and Graeme Thickins. The conference also would not have been possible without the support of our amazing sponsors and partners, and our incredible host Best Buy. You can view conference decks here.

See you at the next one!