Sarah Nolet’s Post

What do you get if you cross agtech, farmland investing, and shark tank? This week's #agtechsowhat podcast of course! 😜 But actually, a live pitch/business breakdown is something we've been talking about with Shane Thomas for ages. This week, it's a reality, thanks to Ben Gordon at Fractal Agriculture. We dig into: 💸 The opportunity in farmland markets for traditional and impact investors 📈 How access to new forms of equity capital can be valuable for farmers ❗ The details of the Fractal model - who pays, where the risk lies, etc. 🌱 How regenerative ag practices fit in - is this truly an impact play or?! I'd love your take on this format, and if you're an #agtech #startup keen to join a future episode or experiment, please shout! https://lnkd.in/gkmE7tiD

There's a question on the minds of the founders, funders, and farmers attending the Regenerative Food System Investment Forum this week in Denver. Is venture capital a fit for scaling regenerative agriculture and enabling technologies, and if not, what else is? To explore this in detail, Connie Bowen (Farmhand Ventures) and Eva Goulbourne (Littlefoot Ventures) developed a fictional case study of a hypothetical agtech company, PrecisionBean. I joined several other lucky table hosts to lead over 100 participants in an exploration of two scenarios: funding PrecisionBean with venture capital alone versus leveraging a blended capital stack of philanthropic and for profit debt and equity. We explored the impacts and consequences of both scenarios for a range of stakeholders— from employees to eaters to customers to the planet. My group was CPG/Big Ag. But whatever role you play in real life, I’m excited to hear what you think. How would you fund PrecisionBean and why? Renée Vassilos Schuyler Dalton Antony Yousefian Mitch Rubin Devon Klatell Sophia Vanderheym Jessamine Fitzpatrick Sarah Day Levesque Brian Dawson Jordan Kraft Lambert

When it comes to funding climate smart solutions in agriculture, few ideas get as much play - or are as polarizing - as regenerative agriculture. I know from when we did our regen ag podcast series (link below), that there are smart, passionate, and well qualified folks advocating for and against the term (and even the practices) But from the land of nuance and systems change where I live, these camps often have a lot more in common than it might appear Ahead of speaking at the Regenerative Food Systems Investment forum next week in Denver, I caught up with Calla Rose Ostrander of Terra Regenerative Capital to start the conversation on #regenerativeagriculture If you're a regen convert, you'll love Calla Rose's insights about rebalancing elemental systems and the critical work of being a second-mover And if you're a regen skeptic, here's a few things you might find yourself agreeing about: 🔬 Ensuring there's a scientific basis for action 💸 A mid-supply chain investment thesis - if there's no market demand or access, it doesn't matter 🏡 How families and upbringings can influence careers in surprising ways 🛠️ Questioning whether venture capital is a fit for funding innovation in ag 🪴 The belief that you need more than tech to change behavior, let alone whole systems Either way, I'm sure you'll tell me in the comments 😜 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/g_4jDgmQ Regen ag series here: https://lnkd.in/geW-9jP8

Managing nature data is tough. Good thing Cecil and Planet and making it easier - check it out 👇

Australia punches well above our weight in climate resilient agriculture, and our world-class research is a big part of this. Here's a great opportunity to look at commercializing this advantage -- unlocking more scale & more impact. Check it out, applications close soon! 👇

I know the pain of pouring your heart (or at least time and often money!) into an episode as a podcast host… and then feeling let down when your guest forgets to shout about it. So I'm sorry, Vidit Agarwal, I totally dropped the ball on this one 🙈 I was so impressed with Vidit's prep and loved getting to tell a few stories I've not shared publicly. I'm also kicking myself for missing the opportunity to turn the mic back on Vidit and ask him about being vulnerable publicly... I was too scared of breaking the host/guest pattern. 🤦♀️ 🙃 Thanks again The High Flyers Podcast for having me on!!

Imagine you're building out a 40 year business case for an investment. Say, a processing asset for an agri-food value chain. But you find out that access to water in the region will be GONE in 25 years. That's what's happening in Kansas, with the latest science predicting that the gigantic Ogallala aquifer may well be fully depleted by 2050. If you're a food or ag company thinking about risk... would this change your decision making? Would it move action beyond your sustainability department? And the implications will be far broader than just for commercial companies. Western Kansas isn’t exactly the heart of the corn belt, but farming in the region does support substantial nearby livestock industries, including large confined dairy and beef cattle operations. If feed becomes sparse, or must come from more expensive, more distant geographies, the regional economic disruptions could be vast. On the pod this week I'm joined by Dan Northrup, part of Galvanize Climate Solutions’ Science and Tech team and an Associate Professor at Iowa State University, to talk about the risks & opportunities that this kind of water vulnerability introduces Tune in and let us know what you think! https://lnkd.in/ghZVeeVc #agtech #water #farming #agriculture #environment #conservation

In their first year on the farm, Quint and Leah, husband and wife, planted tomatoes. Their aim? Break even. One year, fifty acres, countless hours of labor, and a lot of disinterested Italian restaurants later, they walked away from tomatoes forever. The promised margin of specialty crop farming didn’t materialize. Quint and Leah reverted to a focus on corn and soybeans. Or so they thought. More in this week’s newsletter 👇🏼

Tired of hearing status about female funding gaps in agri-food tech? Here's a chance to do something about it! Tenacious Ventures is thrilled to be a community partner for the Women Founders and Funders event, returning to Singapore in November 2024 during SIAW Know any APAC-based agrifoodtech founders who can demonstrate product innovation, commercial viability, traction, and sustainability? Send them here before Sunday 15 September --> https://lnkd.in/gywTebUP  FTW Ventures Brian Frank Jenn Burka Better Earth Ventures Rebecca Sharpe Tomorrow Studio Ventures Chamidu J Karunathilake Thai Wah Ventures Ren Hua Ho Hataikan Kamolsirisakul Sue-Anne T. Wei Rong Chong Guan Chwen Tan SGInnovate Enterprise Singapore Nathalie Gibson #womenfounders #investment #singapore #agrifoodtech #SIAW #funding #foodtech #agtech #startups #founders #innovation #venturecapital #VC #FTWVentures