This month we welcome spring and the awakening of plants, animals and wildlife at Domaine de Graux. The team shares the beauty and the hard work of spring at the farm in a post filled with images of blossoming orchards, happy cows back on green pasture, rabbits in the meadow, and the rich soil that sustains the life above.
Much of The Nest’s work to create systemic change happens in meetings and through work at our desks. It is Domaine de Graux that keeps us grounded—literally—in what it takes to produce food in harmony with the surrounding ecosystem. Where we connect the purpose of our work back to the life in the soil. The construction now in progress at the domain will create a place to welcome all into this experience. As The Nest’s founder Els Thermote explains, “Our goal is to create a community where individuals can connect with nature and the intricate web of the food system.”
We look forward to the beginning of 2027 when the construction is complete, and we can greet the blossoming orchard together with the greater community. In the meantime, our team will continue to share the farm’s harvest and stories. We hope that wherever spring finds you, you take a moment to connect with the beauty of this growing season.
More From the Farm
In March, the team recognized B Corp month. If you missed the LinkedIn post series, the latest post from the farm details how Domain de Graux puts B Corp values into practice in every facet of their work: “Our ambition is simple: a place where everyone feels respected, valued, and able to contribute.”
If this sounds like a place where you would like to work, Domaine de Graux is hiring for a Sales Manager role. The job offers a unique opportunity to shape Domaine de Graux as a venue for events, retreats, and immersive learning experiences. Consider applying if you thrive on building meaningful partnerships, collaborating, and being part of a dedicated team.
The Nest News
Johanna Delmelle, The Nest’s Impact Coordinator, attended the TransCap Initiative Systemic Investing Summit in Brazil. The trip included a farm visit where the Courageous Land team works with smallholder farmers to bring degraded land back to life and contemplation on the meaning and true impact of systemic investing.
Food As Medicine Foundation
Growing a movement
What started as a shared belief that farming could heal as much as it feeds, is becoming a force. With the support of the Food As Medicine Foundation, the Farm For Good ecosystem has grown to 122 farms stewarding 9,400 hectares in transition toward certified organic regenerative agriculture.
The shift is happening in boardrooms too. In 2025, 19 cohort members engaged in the Biodiversity Shift program, building the skills and strategies needed to bring nature into the heart of corporate decision-making. Another 225 participants joined inspiration sessions exploring themes like Nature as a Stakeholder, Nature-Positive Finance, and water resilience. This is proof that the conversation is widening.
And the farmers themselves are taking centre stage. The Top 50 Farmers project welcomed its second cohort in March, and their stories are now being shared . Stories of regenerative practices making a real difference for ecosystems and for the people who tend them. We invite you to follow their journey on the Top 50 Farmers LinkedIn page or discover their stories on the website.
Portfolio News
Ardo
Ardo published their “Corporate Sustainability Report 2025” a focused roadmap of their priorities across all our global operations including Ardo’s Sustainability Strategy 2035.
Quick Organics
Mendy from Natural Food Certifiers explains why NFC chose Quick Organics to simplify the organic certification process for their team and their clients. “[Quick Organics] is something I had envisioned for a long time!”
Steward
The latest successfully funded loan through Steward helped Cardinal Farms purchase a new property in Dexter, Michigan. The community farm will now have the space to expand pasture-raised livestock, vegetable production, and young minds by offering camps, workshops, field trips, and family programming. The Kerns plan to use the new farm site to deepen people’s connection to food, land, and responsible agriculture.
Zymofix
Zymofix announced a milestone toward commercial-scale production: the arrival of their 200 liter solid state fermenter which expands their in-house fermentation capacity to tonne scale.
Fund News
AgFunder
AgFunder released their AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2026. The analysis goes beyond the obvious – flat funding and decreasing deal counts – to take a closer look at investment shifts. The upstream movement of capital. Selectivity in the solutions for a sector stressed by climate and changes to supply chains from trade and geopolitical tensions. AgFunder reminds us that the most interesting story is sometimes what is not getting funded — and why.
Arborview Capital
Arborview was listed as an Emeritus Manager in the 2026 ImpactAssets Impact Fund Manager Showcase. The Emeritus status is special recognition for impact fund managers who achieved IA 50 recognition for more than five years.
Astanor
Astanor, as part of finance sector members of the EU Business & Biodiversity (B&B) Platform, contributed to the report, “Business Models and Investments for Nature.” The report is an in-depth guide designed to support investing in and financing nature positive outcomes.
Astanor, along with AgFunder, Radikal Capital, Royal Cosun, arc investors, AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance and XAnge, participated in a $28m funding round for planetary, an advanced manufacturing fermentation platform. The funding was led by Radikal Capital and Oetker Ventures.
Astanor portco The Gut Stuff was acquired by Hero Group. The Gut Stuff is maker of fiber-rich beverages and bars designed to improve gut health.
biotope by VIB
Accelerator program biotope announced the startups selected for their Basecamp Cohort 9. From May 5–22, the following companies will participate in three intensive weeks of deep dives, workshops, and expert sessions:
- Becaps (Argentina), biologicals for agriculture
- Bloom Biotech (Belgium), Sustainable leather alternative
- Dahlia Biotech (Germany), Renewable chemicals for a net-zero future
- EnzyFerm (Norway), Multi-strain fermentation
- GreenBioNourish (Sweden), Nutrition
- Kinva (UK), Antioxidants for skincare
- MicroIn (Mexico), Bio-inspired microencapsulation
- ProEvo (Germany), Industrially-viable enzymes
- Sequinova (UK), Sustainable fashion materials
- Solubind (Germany), Metal extraction from industrial waste
- Wren Bioscience (Denmark), Milk safety testing
Blume Equity
TIME magazine recognized Blume Equity portco Overstory as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies of 2026 and Top 10 in Sustainability. Overstory uses satellite imagery and AI to help utility companies prevent fires.
Buoyant Ventures
The team from Buoyant published their latest insight, “Investing in the Intelligence Layer for the Physical World.” The post provides their perspective on how six years of changes to the climate tech sector, including a $100+ trillion infrastructure buildout shapes their investing strategy.
Clear Frontier
Clear Frontier Ag Management was named to the ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50) for 2026. The updated Clear Frontier website includes a case study of outcomes from their Meadowlark Fund I farms. The results are based on three years of data and were verified through third-party soil testing and carbon tracking methodologies.
Pymwymic
Pymwymic invested in Dimensions Agri Technologies (DAT)k, a Norwegian ag-tech company advancing precision spraying in cereal farming. DAT’s system retrofits to existing equipment and reduces herbicide use by 45% on average without impacting crop performance. DAT will be the 14th company in Pymwymic’s Healthy Food Systems Impact Fund II. The investment round was co-led by Pymwymic and Nysnø, with participation from SBGi.
DAT is in good company. Six of Pymwymic’s 16 active portfolio companies were in the top 200 of the latest Forward Fooding FoodTech 500 list: Biome Makers Inc., Doktar Technologies, OneThird, FA Bio, Trapview, and Vivent Biosignals.
Synthesis Capital
Synthesis Capital welcomed two new members to their advisory network, Sharon Walbert, of Cargill and Bunge, and Zubin Siganporia of Oxford University.
What We Are Reading and Watching
- The Science of Soil to Stomach. Eric Smith of Edacious joined Anne Bikle and David Montgomery, authors of the groundbreaking book, What Your Food Ate, in an hour-long webinar. The discussion explores the science linking soil health to human health. The webinar explains we are not just losing topsoil globally, but the carbon and life within the soil as well. This life, the soil-plant microbiome, is where plant and soil exchange nutrients, exudates, and metabolites. The nutrient pathway is hidden at microscopic scale in the rhizosphere underground. But it is as essential to the health of the plant as our own microbiomes are to us. One way we can “see” the soil-to-stomach connection is by using tools like Edacious to measure nutritional outcomes. Watch the webinar, presented by Trailhead Capital.
- “School gardens help students learn science and connect with agriculture – but making them happen isn’t easy” (The Conversation). School gardens teach children where food comes from. They offer applied learning in science and add physical activity into the school day.
- In France’s beet heartland, a group of farmers fed up with pesticides are rewriting the sugar industry from the ground up. Their answer: Fabrique à sucres, the country’s first micro–sugar refinery producing 100% organic whole beet sugar. Owned largely by growers themselves, the project creates a missing market for organic beet, opening the door to farm conversions, local jobs, and a low-energy, low-water model of reindustrialization.Sources: Reporterre, Territoires Bio
Opportunities
- Ardo has 42 job opportunities.
- Farm for Good is hiring for a Farmer.
- AgFunder’s portfolio job openings include Senior Technical Product Manager-Carbon and Environmental Models and Senior AI Scientist.
- Astanor’s portfolio currently has 95 job openings.
- Buoyant Ventures’ portfolio has 102 jobs open, including Software Engineers and Senior Product Leader.
- Ominvore’s portfolio has 271 job openings across 31 companies.