Texas gets its very own Land Link Program, at long last. Land Link is an online tool that connects farmers looking for land with landowners looking to sell or lease their land. Helping new farmers find reasonable access to land, while giving land owners the opportunity to put their land into sustainable agricultural production is a crucial service to provide. Looking forward to more good food and good farms in Central Texas. Find Farmshare's Land Link Program here.

We work with a lot of agricultural producers that recognize the importance of working with a financial partner like Farm Services Agency (FSA), as they provide access to ag-specific, cheap capital. But, we also hear about some of the challenges and questions that arise in trying to access this capital.

FSA recently released the type of collateral requirements they have to access their guaranteed loan programs for land and agricultural production.

FAQ here

FSA Guaranteed Loan website here

The Lancet Commission published a report that helps define what it means to eat a healthy, sustainable diet. "The EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health brings together more than 30 world-leading scientists from across the globe to reach a scientific consensus that defines a healthy and sustainable diet."

Full Report here

Lots of great food for thought in this report by Village Capital. How do we grow a sustainable food system, exactly? Who needs to be at the table to achieve this, what is sustainable, what's working right now, and what's missing? Interesting case studies and thought provoking ideas, such as:

​This month we welcome Errol Schweizer, Organic Industry Entrepreneur and Activist. Errol brings deep and various experiences to the show. Currently Errol serves as a board member and advisor to a variety of retail, CPG, E-Commerce, and Private Equity firms. Before this, Errol was VP of Grocery at Whole Foods. Before that even, Errol was a political activist in NYC. We talk food, power, industry, and justice

Foodshed Investors Advisory Service ~ Funding Readiness ~ Virtual Business Partner ~ Episode 2 of Foodshed Investors Podcast ~ Central Texas Food Hub Feasibility Study ~ Beyond Fresh Value Added Production Guide ~ Refresh Report

Full Newsletter Here

A new report from Refresh on technology, sustainability, and food production:

"Emerging technologies are transforming every part of our nation’s complex food system. From food production and distribution, to the safety of our food supply and the management of industrial food waste, these advances are already changing the ways we respond to hunger, soil erosion, pollution, and over-development. But the way we talk about these innovations— and the way the public understands them—could use a refresh."

See the full report here

The passing of the year provides many people an easy excuse for reflections and resolutions—a time to consider what the prior year’s experience revealed and to plan for the coming year’s adventures. We are no different at Foodshed Investors. At the close of 2018, we reflected on what our experience over the last 4 years has taught us about the role of capital in increasing the supply of good, local food. When we put our heads together, we realized we’ve learned quite a lot and are even more excited about this opportunity then when we first started.

FI Launches Nationwide ~ New FI website ~ Advisory Services Launched ~ FI Announces Everyone Investor Network ~ FI Launches Foodshed Investors Podcast ~ Growing a Sustainable Food System Report ~ Lancet Commission Report on Diet and Planet

Full Newsletter Here

Today we launch our latest website, and with it broaden our geographical focus from Central Texas to the entire US; introduce "Advisory Services"; launch our Podcast; and launch the "Everyone Network".

We've expanded from "Austin Foodshed Investors" to simply "Foodshed Investors" as our experience helping sustainable food... 

At the intersection of food, money, and people you’ll find The Foodshed Investors Podcast. This month, Austin Foodshed Investors Founders and Partners, Jarred Maxwell, Curt Nelson and Eric de Valpine join host Evan Driscoll (also with AFI) to talk about why, exactly, we're doing this podcast and why we think it's important. Also discussed: Angel Investing, Venture Capital, raising the right capital for your company, AFI portfolio case studies, and what makes for good financials.

Foodshed Investors friend Amy Bell co-authored this report, which "offers a new way of thinking about the relationship between financial returns and social and environmental impact. Instead of debating whether impact objectives detract from the financial performance of a fund, it identifies the ways in which impact objectives enhance financial performance, based on transactions in the portfolios of market-rate investment managers. This concept is known as “impact alpha".

Read the full report here.

2018 report from Village Capital details gaps in equity and geographical distribution of innovation capital, with suggested solutions including Revenue Share Structures, Place-Based Multi-Asset-Class Funds, and Peer-Based Decision Making.

Says author and VilCap President Ross Baird: "Our current capital structures – particularly the most well-publicized options of venture capital and bank loans – reward the few and leave the many on the sidelines. Billion-dollar tech “unicorns” distort our view of a successful startup economy. Most startup capital goes to just a few people, in a few places, and a few industries. Half of the world’s venture capital goes to just three US states...

​Still Austin Whiskey Co. is a small, craft distillery located in Austin, TX. Still Austin is Austin's first bourbon distillery and is committed to creating grain-to-glass Texas whiskeys sourced 100% from Texas farmers. They distill the highest quality whiskey, made from scratch by hand, by attending to every detail in every step in the process. 

Eden's Organic CSA Farm and Garden Center is located just southeast of Dallas, TX, where they grow a diversity of fruits and vegetables and also sell a number of amenities for the garden. Founded in 2008, Owner Marie Tedei, has been growing this business and cultivating a strong community around the food she grows.

AFI invests in Seal the Seasons, a frozen fruit and vegetable company in North Carolina. Their product is source identified and regionally grown and distributed. We are excited to see them grow their positive impact on sustainable farms.

A new study from the Austin Texas-based Capital Area Council of Governments, "Selling Food is Good Business in the Capital Area - But What About Local Food Production?" asks “... how much of the dollars being spent on food are staying in the local economy, as opposed to going to food producers elsewhere?”
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