Meraki Impact’s Post

For the past 1.5 years, Cindie Christiansen and I have been in stealth mode building Top 50 Farmers — a non-profit project to scale regenerative agriculture by spotlighting the farmers leading the way. We are proud to share that we have secured 80% of the 2-year project budget from The DOEN Foundation , Astanor Ventures, AVINA Stiftung, and The Nest Family Office. We are now preparing to launch in the fall 🙌 This November, Top 50 Farmers will launch an open call nomination to find 50 farmers from across Europe who are applying regenerative principles and demonstrating how agriculture is good business for people and the planet. Why do we need to amplify role models? Because stories are powerful. They provide knowledge, inspiration, and education, influencing generations. It’s also proven that when you have someone that looks like you in a position of power, it makes it that much easier to follow in their footsteps. Through storytelling, ecosystem building, and facilitating conversations along the value chain, we believe that we can win hearts and minds, raise consciousness, and highlight a blueprint for the future of food that is already unfolding all around us. Big thanks to our Advisory Board, Selection Committee, and collaborators for all the love you have already shown in this project. They are heroes and tagged below <3 Want to learn more about Top 50 Farmers? Join our free webinar, which will share more information about how we built the project including fundraising from vision and value aligned partners: https://lnkd.in/ep9gBM-G PS: If you are a foundation or family office funding regenerative projects, we’d love to talk to you. Top 50 Farmers has raised 80% of the total project budget and is looking to close the remaining 20%. Will you be a founding funder? Contact us me or Cindie to learn more.

It is heartening to see the recognition that Farm Bill work isn't a once-in-five-years affair but a long-term engagement to support vision, practical action, and implementation to "win the win". Dedicated support to partners like the Regenerative Agriculture Foundation (big ups to Mark Muller mention in the article) allow the field to be nimble and creative, but we need more funders to join us in sustaining long-term, patient investment that recognizes it's not just about incremental wins in the now, but enabling a more transformative vision for the future. 

Such a pleasure to talk with my friend Joanna Pineda on her podcast about what we're doing at Soil Upside! The pull-out quote about carbon compels me to say... There are so many other benefits to climate smart & regenerative ag: improved farm resilience to drought and flood, rural community development, food security, biodiversity protection, water source protection, watershed restoration and so much more! It's really easy to say all of that, but farmers & ranchers are the ones that are living and breathing the complexity of this, making stepwise progress (often with significant setbacks) and taking big risks changing the management practices of their operations. This is complex work and we're trying to help producers by demystifying the chaotic, complex and opaque funding landscape. Here's the episode: https://lnkd.in/ew5TGkgY

Can agriculture be climate-friendly? 🌾🌍💡 In the latest episode of Associations Thrive, Joanna Pineda interviews Patrick Smith, Founder and Executive Director at Soil Upside Patrick discusses: 🌱 Climate Smart Agriculture: Shifting from chemically-focused to biologically-centric farming. 🌟 The challenges and profitability of transitioning to climate-smart/regenerative agriculture. 💰 Building a database of funding opportunities for farmers. 🚀 His unique qualifications and entrepreneurial journey in tech and climate-focused agriculture. 🤝 Soil Upside’s fiscally sponsored project and fundraising approach. ⏳ The temporary nature of Soil Upside and plans to donate the company to a non-profit. 🤖 The role of AI and APIs in making Soil Upside possible. Discover how farming can be both climate-friendly and profitable! #RegenerativeAg #ClimateSmart #AgTech #SoilUpside

I have known Patrick Smith for a loooong time, and he continues to amaze me with his entrepreneurial spirit. He's got a new start-up, this time a nonprofit called Soil Upside. Listen to this amazing interview about climate-friendly agriculture, regenerative agriculture, and how he's trying to live a different life as an entrepreneur this time around! Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eZASuMEP

Last week was a BIG week for investments in regenerative agriculture and food! From farmers to tech to infrastructure to supply chain transparency, there’s a lot going on - check these out! 👩🏽🌾 We were excited to help our friends at Mad Capital announce the launch of their $50M Perennial Fund II that is helping to scale regenerative organic agriculture in the U.S. 🤖 California-based venture capital firm Acre Venture Partners has closed a $140 million fund (Fund III) to invest in agrifoodtech startups, despite the venture funding drought of recent years. ⛓️ ZEGO and Snacktivist received a $3M USDA Organic Market Development grant to expand and improve the organic, gluten-free, high protein grain supply chain in the Northwest. 🌾 Proofing Station announced its first investment in the sustainable food systems of the Upper Midwest: a $1 million low-interest debt investment to The Conservation Fund’s Farms Fund to purchase and conserve critical farmland in the Chicago region and provide a patient path to farmland ownership for new and disadvantaged farmers. 🐝 Merge Impact have launched a $500k WeFunder campaign, marking a significant milestone in the company's journey towards revolutionizing sustainable agriculture by creating avenues for sustainability transparency from the farm to the consumer. All of this news represents massive amounts of hard work from the solution builders behind these companies and tremendous potential for transformation! Congrats to all and can’t wait to see what’s next! Read more about these and other news from across the space here: https://lnkd.in/gEy7uRDt #foodsystems #farming #investment #regenerativeagriculture #aginvesting #impactinvesting #farmfinance

Bezos Earth Fund Ignites #AlternativeProteins Revolution Key Takeaways: - Bezos Earth Fund dedicates $100 million to #AlternativeProteins research. - Investment focuses on plant-based, precision fermentation, and cultivated meat. - $1 billion commitment to tackle food's climate impact. Further Insights 1. Investment Announced: The Bezos Earth Fund announced an increased funding commitment to developing alternative proteins, announcing $100 million towards this initiative. 2. Focus Areas: Funding will support research on plant-based alternatives, precision fermentation, and cultivated meat, aiming to reduce the environmental footprint of food production. 3. Bezos Centers: Bezos Centers for Sustainable Protein will be established, with the first at North Carolina State University, focusing on biomanufacturing dietary proteins. 4. Wider Commitment: The $100 million is part of a broader $1 billion commitment by the Bezos Earth Fund to address food's impact on climate change, including efforts in methane reduction and carbon sequestration. 5. Impact on Diets: Alternative proteins, including plant-based burgers and protein from fermentation tanks, offer a path to shift diets away from livestock, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Closing Thoughts: The Bezos Earth Fund's significant investment in alternative proteins signals a pivotal shift towards sustainable food solutions. Will other philanthropic foundations follow suit?

🌱 We are excited to share highlights from session two of The Regen Reflections Webinar which help September 19th, in collaboration with SAI Platform In this session, we took participants on an inspiring journey into the world of regenerative agriculture. Together, we explored the dynamic and promising landscape of financing regenerative agriculture (RegenAg) and building a compelling business case for these initiatives. Here’s a quick look at the key takeaways from our speakers: 💡 Tailored Strategies for Scaling Margaret Henry shared how PepsiCo is embedding Regen Ag into its global supply chain by engaging diverse stakeholders and achieving early wins. She emphasised the need for translators who can bridge gaps across sectors and foster co-creation of solutions that work for all. 💼 Building the Business Case Catherine McCosker of 3Keel highlighted the importance of aligning internal goals and creating a culture that supports Regen Ag, even when financial returns are delayed. She stressed the need to speak the language of finance and procurement to gain buy-in for long-term success. 🌱 Creative Financing Models Kyle Rudzinski and Tim Crosby discussed innovative funding solutions like blended capital models, combining corporate investments with support from impact investors, philanthropists, and government grants. These models help de-risk RegenAg projects and ensure farmers remain at the center with incentives like long-term contracts and transition support. 🤝 Collaboration is Key Across the board, our speakers echoed the need for cross-sector partnerships. Scaling Regen Ag requires governments, NGOs, and even competitors to work together, leveraging local expertise to tailor practices regionally. Want to be part of this insightful conversation? Stay tuned for updates on our next session, where we will dive deeper into how we can engage farmers in co-creating regenerative agriculture solutions.

Want to have a very interesting conversation? Let’s try something! Over the next few days… …The #Regenerativeagriculture start-up and investor ecosystem will be at the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum in Denver, CO. …A branch of the #agroforestry and #perennial ag farm and food community are rounding out the Savanna Institute’s Perennial Farm Gathering in Madison, WI. …Innovative food businesses across Minnesota will be gathering with Naturally MN at Food Ag Ideas Week #FAI in Minneapolis, MN with a big focus on regen ag. …Food industry executives and leaders will *also* be in Minneapolis *at the same time* at the Reuters Events Transform Food and Agriculture 2024 conference #TransformFood. Are we all talking to each other? We need to be! Farmers, entrepreneurs, investors, growing brands, industry, eaters… it takes all of us. Are you sitting in one of these events? What do you want to ask people at the other events? Who wants to seed the conversation here? Just Overstory Ventures over here 👋, thinking systemically, building an Upper Midwest regenerative enterprise ecosystem… Fred Iutzi Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin Mark Phillips JoAnne Berkenkamp Allison Hohn Alexandra (Diemer) Ostlund Katharine Chute Arnulfo A Perrera Mitch Hunter Ryan Rosenthal David LeZaks Transformational Investing in Food Systems Beth Robertson-Martin Michael Gevertz PJ Connolly Gabe Lobet Vanessa Kulick Andre Ticoulat Ivana Gazibara

Oligofeed Secures 600K€ in Funding to Enhance Pollinator Health Oligofeed, a French deep tech startup, is excited to announce the successful closure of a 600K€ pre-seed funding round to accelerate the development and market introduction of innovative bee feeds. This funding marks a significant milestone in Oligofeed’s mission to enhance pollinator preservation, a crucial factor in maintaining global food supply stability. The funding round was led by The Yield Lab Europe, a renowned fund known for its focus on sustainable agtech investments. The alignment of values between Oligofeed and The Yield Lab Europe has established a strong foundation for future growth and impact-driven innovation in sustainable agriculture. The participation of experienced investors such as CCI Capital Croissance and Établissements Peugeot Frères further bolsters Oligofeed’s capability to bring their scientific advancements to the market. Aneta Ozierańska, CEO and co-founder of Oligofeed emphasized the importance of this funding in the context of declining #pollinator health. “With the decline in pollinator health, the funding #ecosystem must support innovative approaches to address this issue,” she stated. This funding will enable Oligofeed to enhance its product offerings and extend its market reach. Read more here -> https://lnkd.in/eH8gY7Aa