Recently the whole team here at Tenacious Ventures had the chance to get out of town and on to the farm. And not just any farm – we visited Jigsaw Farms, home to sheep farmer and long-time friend of the show Mark Wooton and his wife Eve. While out at Jigsaw, Mark and Eve gave us an update on their vision for “sustainable intensification” and their ethos for farm management.
Venture investment into technology companies that have the potential to scale regenerative agriculture is accelerating. However, it is a relatively new domain for venture capital, and it comes with its own unique set of challenges.
So what role can VCs play in the regen ag landscape? And what technologies and trends are VCs looking at to guide their investments?
This bonus episode features a discussion from a live panel conversation at the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum (RFSIF), in California.
In this final wrap up episode of our regenerative agriculture series, the team from AgThentic is giving you OUR verdict. Sarah is joined by Matthew Pryor, Partner at AgThentic and co-founder of Tenacious Ventures, to discuss what it will take to move beyond the polarizing debate over whether regen ag is good or bad.
Our panel of farming experts debate whether regenerative agriculture can help farmers be more sustainable and profitable, or if it’s all hype.
Richard Leask, a South Australian wine grower, and Toby Grogan, a natural capital specialist from Impact Ag, share their insights on how regen ag is improving soil health and profitability. While Tasmanian mixed farmer, Will Bignell explains why he remains sceptical of regenerative agriculture, despite measuring soil carbon himself.
When a company signs on to regenerative agriculture, it can be accused of ‘greenwashing’- making people believe it’s doing more to help the environment than it really is.
General Mills, the company behind iconic brands such as Yoplait, Betty Crocker and Cheerios, made a commitment to bring regenerative agriculture practices to one million acres of farmland by 2030.
Jay Watson is responsible for this task. In this episode Jay shares his views on the criticisms against regenerative agriculture and why- and how- General Mills has decided to invest in it.
Sam Trethewey believes ‘regenerative agriculture’ is not a dirty word - but simply the future of farming. Astonishingly, he produces wagyu beef in Tasmania without actually owning any cows. He does this by combining insights about business models from startups such as Uber and Airbnb with the farming practices of regenerative agriculture.
Mark Wootton is well-known in the Australian agriculture industry as a pioneer in carbon-neutral farming. In 2011, Jigsaw Farms, his family property in south-west Victoria, achieved carbon neutrality - undergoing a process he openly admits was at the time, both “arduous and not necessarily commercially rewarding”.
But his passion for sustainable farming and lowering carbon emissions continues. His latest venture is a “Super Ewe” - where he aims to genetically create a dual purpose sheep.
