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:

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

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...

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?”
​

Jed Emerson of Impact Assets discusses capital allocation, "finance first" vs. "impact first", and various vectors of risk... including "conformance risk", that is, having portfolio assets that are outside what might be typically held.  Then, on the flip side of the coin, Emerson addresses returns, including this:  ​