Fall Line Capital

Israeli startup Chunk Foods is moving into the retail market in the US via independent retailers in Los Angeles and New York City and eyeing an e-commerce launch before the end of the year to bring its plant-based whole cuts to consumers nationwide. Despite lackluster sales in the plant-based category at US retail, says founder and CEO Amos Golan. “We’ve found that US retailers are still quite open to new players, especially when you’re offering something truly innovative that checks many of the boxes consumers are looking for." To make its whole cuts, Chunk Foods ferments soy flour with food-grade microorganisms in a proprietary solid state fermentation process. This is cheaper than using high-moisture extrusion or submerged fermentation, and is highly tunable, claims Golan, who has raised around $24.5m from backers including Cheyenne Ventures and Fall Line Capital since founding Chunk Foods in 2020. #foodtech #plantbased #alternativeproteins #plantbasedmeat #meatalternatives #fermentation AgFunder

The cotton harvest is well underway in the Mississippi Delta, with Louisiana leading the effort, having harvested 88% of its cotton according to the latest USDA Crop Progress report. The photos below were taken in September on one of our Arkansas farms. Typically, farmers defoliate the plants to improve airflow, dry them, and then open the cotton bolls before picking. Since it's often the last crop harvested, farmers are at the mercy of the rainy season, which can easily destroy the entire crop. They face a trade-off between the yield and quality benefits of having all the bolls open and the risk of losing the crop to adverse weather. After harvest, cotton stalks are usually trimmed to remove food and shelter for boll weevils (Anthonomus grandis). From: Joaquin Oliverio, Wade H. Condrey, and Baptiste Tellier

Congratulations to Arzeda’s co-founder, David Baker, on winning the Nobel Prize! Arzeda, a spinout from his lab, continues to thrive under the leadership of those mentored by him. We're excited for Alexandre Zanghellini and the entire Arzeda team as they continue pushing the boundaries of sustainable protein-based industrial applications. 

We are proud to announce the closing of our Series B funding round with an additional $11 million commitment from new investors Corteva Agriscience. through its Corteva Catalyst platform, Sparkfood SA This addition brings the total Series B round to $40 million, elevating Micropep’s overall funding to over $60 million. We’d like to thank all of our investors who support and believe in our mission of building more sustainable agriculture for future generations. Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/e7aaW-Gt #agtech #sustainableagriculture #sustainablefarming

We're thrilled to be part of Arzeda's journey and support their growth as they reshape the future of protein design and advance sustainable solutions. Congratulations to the Arzeda team!

🎊 We’re thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with RDO Equipment Co. to bring our Vulcan precision weeding technology to vegetable growers across the Southwest! FarmWise’s Vulcan combines #AI-powered precision with exceptional productivity, addressing labor shortages and high hand-weeding costs. Leading growers like Taylor Farms and Barkley Farms are seeing great results. With RDO's extensive network and deep customer relationships, we look forward to expanding outreach and allowing even more growers to confidently adopt Vulcan’s game-changing technology. Tjarko Leifer, CEO of FarmWise, shares, “This partnership takes FarmWise’s commercial and customer support capabilities to the next level and reinforces RDO’s leadership in the adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies.” Richard Arias, RDO's VP of Southwest Ag adds, “Vulcan’s AI-driven efficiency aligns perfectly with our mission to help growers optimize weed management and improve crop yield.” With a shared obsession for grower satisfaction, RDO and FarmWise are set to advance specialty crop weeding with chemical-free solutions and real savings. Stay tuned for more updates on how we’re driving agricultural #innovation! 🌱 #AgTech #Innovation #Technology #Partnership

“Historically, when you look at technology adoption in agriculture, it can happen very rapidly”. 📈 Will Sarni & Tom Freyberg were joined by Baptiste Tellier, Managing Director of Fall Line Capital, on the latest episode of The Stream. They discussed the challenges and opportunities of bringing new technologies to farmers, and how ‘slow adoption’ can get a bad rap. Baptiste shares his insights on the importance of understanding farmers' pain points and developing solutions that are both effective and easy to use.🚜 He also highlights the need for patience and persistence when it comes to introducing new technologies to the agricultural industry. Want to hear more? Access the full pod here: https://lnkd.in/e-ndKiFb 🔔 Make sure to hit the bell to subscribe to The Stream channel to never miss an episode. #TheStream #Agriculture #FoodProduction #investing #venture #Water #ClimateTech #sustainableagriculture #smartfarming #greentech #innovation

It was incredible to hear Baptiste Tellier, the managing director of Fall Line Capital, tell the story of our first meeting on the latest episode of The Stream podcast with Will Sarni and Tom Freyberg. (Yes, I really am a big fan of the show!) Fall Line mostly manages row crops, but they do have a few orchards and vineyards. Baptiste talks about how he was initially skeptical when he heard the pitch was for a water-focused startup. But also how that skepticism quickly faded when he thought back to hearing about how the valves in their vineyards were supposed to be connected but never were. “There is a gap there. There’s a need to create this integrated hardware and software solution to enable precision irrigation in permanent crops. That solution didn’t exist.” It’s amazing to me that even our capital partner has firsthand experience with the exact problem we’re solving! We built Lumo because Baptiste’s story is not unique. There are acres and acres of solenoids waiting to be wired up everywhere. And there are farmers who will tell you tales about how this or that was supposed to happen, or this or that never ended up working the way it was supposed to, and how plans to automate gradually got pushed back and pushed back until they eventually fell away completely. A gap in the market did exist. There was, and there is, a need for a better, smarter endpoint. For a valve with a flow meter and computer built in that makes automation and precision and efficiency gains possible. And that delivers the data necessary to close the loop, reconcile against plan, and give growers peace of mind that their crops are getting the optimal amount of water. Thank you Baptiste & Libby Spalding for believing in us early, for all the support you’ve provided along the way, and for your dedication to the agricultural community. Lumo exists because of your depth of understanding and insight into this market and the problem we’re trying to solve. #agtech #irrigation #sustainability #climatetech #water

With open dialogue ongoing about the mechanisms that could support emissions reductions in the agricultural sector, what level of pressure can producers in the EU expect to face to comply with new regulations? What obligations does this place on processors, impacting #Scope3 emissions? Giulia M. Stellari, Director at Fall Line Capital will moderate the discussion, joined by: Anastasia Volkova, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO, Regrow Ag Mónica Andrés Enríquez, EVP, Europe, Yara International Christian Holzleitner, Head of Unit for Land Economy and Carbon Removals, Directorate-General for Climate Action, European Commission Join more leaders driving advancements in climate-resilient agriculture, see what's on the programme: https://bit.ly/4fwczhI

Our crops in the Arkansas Delta Farms are approaching maturity as the 2024 cropping season draws to a close. Corn will reach the black layer stage in less than a week, signaling full maturity. The black layer stage is characterized by a black layer forming at the base of the corn kernel, indicating that the kernel has reached maximum dry weight and the plant is physiologically mature. At this stage, all nutrient movement to the kernel stops, and irrigation is no longer necessary. Meanwhile, soybeans are advancing to the R6 stage, indicating that seeds are now fully developed. At the R6 (full seed) stage, the soybean pods contain seeds that fill the pod cavity at one of the four uppermost nodes on the main stem with a fully developed leaf. While the seeds at R6 won’t accumulate more weight, it is still critical to scout for pests such as stink bugs, which can affect seed quality. As we conclude this season, we turn our attention to preparations for the upcoming year. Plans are underway for implementing cover crops on this farm, refining crop allocation strategies for the next year, and managing crop residues to enhance soil health and productivity. Our focus remains on sustaining and improving our farm operations for continued success. From: Joaquin Oliverio