As summer winds down at the farm, we’re reflecting on a season full of growth and inspiration and looking ahead to an exciting fall. In this edition, you’ll find highlights from across our portfolio and foundation, including Ekoplaza’s vibrant organic food festival in the Netherlands. With the RFSI Forum just around the corner and a busy season of events ahead, we’re energized by the momentum building in our community.
From the Farm
Domaine de Graux welcomed a new team member, Justine, who works in the market garden with Armand. Our pastures are also graced with a new presence, Red the bull who will add genetic diversity to our Angus herd.
We are excited to see August’s Top 50 Farmers highlighting Emilien Rottiers and his work to establish the organic and regenerative practices at Domaine de Graux. We feel lucky and grateful for the team at Domaine de Graux as we continue to grow our agroecological practices and build programs to educate future generations.
The Nest’s team enjoyed a wonderful visit to the farm in August. We started with a tour through the orchard, where we learned about ancient varieties of apples and the delicious juice we’re making from them. Another highlight was meeting the Angus herd, including the calves born this spring and our impressive new bull, Red.
While learning about the regenerative practices in the fields, we also saw firsthand how they helped bring about this year’s strong harvest of wheat and potatoes, and enjoyed walking through the thriving market garden, now brimming with amazing produce - from lemon cucumbers to a rainbow of tomatoes, zucchini, and much more.
With renovation works underway, the whole team left inspired and looking forward to the bright future ahead for the farm.
Join us at RFSI Forum on October 7-8 in Minneapolis
Regenerative Food Systems Investment (RFSI) released their report “Regenerative Ag & Food Investments: A Landscape Update” this month. The analysis highlights key investment trends and topics including Food as Medicine/Nutrient Density, the importance of private investment to scale regenerative food systems, and the need to measure impact, financial as well as environmental and farmer outcomes.
We look forward to exploring these topics in person at the RFSI Forum in Minneapolis, on October 7-8. The Nest’s Hallie Fox will be speaking in the session “What If...? Reimagining the Future of Investing in Agriculture.”
For us this event is so much more than just a conference. It is the heart of the movement to restore and regenerate our food system. We would love it if you joined us!
Get 10% off your registration fee with the code “THENEST10”.
Portfolio Companies
Biotope Group
Ekoplaza organized Ekotown: an organic food festival to celebrate with farmers, suppliers and customers. Over 3,000 people gathered for a day full of organic delicacies from passionate farmers, growers, and producers. It was a day filled with pure flavors, inspiring encounters, and fun for all ages. The common thread: connection within the organic food chain.
There was plenty to see and do: from live music to meet & greets with Ekoplaza’s farmers and growers, from yoga in the hay barn to mountain biking, and from matcha lattes to inspiring cooking demos. The children also enjoyed a wheelbarrow race where they made insect houses.
Antler Bio
AntlerBio is one of the high-growth startups to be featured by the Cultivator powered by Conexus accelerator, at the World AgriTech Innovation Summit in London, 22-23 September.
Edacious
As California initiated its new AB 899 disclosure law for baby foods, Edacious is prepared with a solution for compliance testing and reporting for heavy metal concentrations in foods.
Please consider adding your vote to support Edacious for a panel discussion, “Food as Medicine: Regenerative Protein vs Processed Promises” at SXSW.
Monarch Tractor
Monarch Tractor announced the launch of their MonarchOne platform. The technology empowers off-highway original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to reduce complexity and cost, increase speed to market, and deliver AI-powered scalable autonomy.
Monarch, along with DeHaat (an Omnivore portfolio member), is included in the Thrive Top 50 AgTech companies.
Quick Organics
Quick Organics announced their latest certifier partnership with Pennsylvania Certified Organic. PCO will be streamlining the certification process with Quick Organics’ digital Organic System Plan (OSP) platform.
ReelData
ReelData’s AI-powered biomass estimation tool ReelWeight is now in use across four continents, in eight countries, and covering five species (and in some cases multiple strains).
Steward
Steward’s latest successful lending campaign, A Regenerative Supply Chain Rooted In The Rainforest, funded $1.85 million for Barnana’s growth as a farm-to-shelf snack company rooted in upcycling and Indigenous supply chains in Ecuador.
Zymofix
Zymofix is one of six startups joining the RootCamp Batch #7 accelerator. The cohort will be focused on water technologies.
Zymofix announced two new hires, Felipe Alandete and Maria Vazquez Vitali as their new Pilot Plant Engineer and Fermentation Engineer, respectively.
Portfolio Funds
AgFunder
AgFunder News articles:
· Fermelanta nets $13.6m to engineer microbes for complex plant metabolite production
Astanor
Cofounder and managing partner Eric Archambeau was interviewed by AgFunder News on agrifood investing: "It annoys me when people say 'That will never work'"
biotope by VIB
ClimateHack interviewed Annick Verween of biotope by VIB, along with 12 leading investors managing over $1B in climate capital on aligning financial return with climate benefit.
Biotope interviewed the founders of Landman.bio, a company that harnesses beneficial viruses as a biopesticide to target bacterial diseases in specialty crops without harm to the ecosystem.
Blume Equity
Blume Equity was named a finalist in the Growth Investor Awards for Exit of the Year for Sensorfact. Sensorfact, a fast-growth energy management company, was successful in an exit to ABB, the Swiss engineering company.
Buoyant Ventures
Buoyant Ventures shared an article: Beyond the Climate Headlines: Analyzing the Investment Gap Around Chronic Risks.
Pymwymic
Pymwymic investor and board member, Sophie Pickering shares a behind-the-scenes look at what founders experience raising a round with Pymwymic.
Pymwymic shared five top insights from their week at Groundswell in the UK.
The Pymwymic team will be attending the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London, 22-23 September. Rogier Pieterse will be on the main stage panel, “Rethinking Investment Models for Agri-Food Innovation.”
Synthesis Capital
Synthesis Capital began a series on the six planetary boundaries we have breached, with a first post, “Planetary Boundaries and Animal Agriculture (1 of 6): Land Use.”
Walden Mutual
Walden Bank highlights Finicky Farm, an operation that combines sheep grazing and solar panels that provide renewable energy and shade for sheep.
Food as Medicine Foundation
Top 50 Farmers
Cindie Christiansen, co-founder of Top 50 Farmers and Foodprint Nordic, joined Koen van Seijen on Investing in Regenerative Agriculture to discuss how a small change at the restaurant and hospitality level could drive massive transformation in European agriculture.
Top 50 Farmers shared inspiring stories of people who made bold decisions to embrace regeneration of careers and land, including a new farmer at age 60 who transformed 52 degraded hectares with regenerative grazing, and a landscape architect turning his talents to restoring olive groves.
Opportunities
Ardo has 45 job openings currently.
Astanor posted 81 job openings, including Visiting Analyst in Impact Venture Capital at Astanor in Belgium.
Buoyant Ventures posted 21 job openings for their portfolio.
Monarch Tractor has six job openings posted.