Organic Farming

Sara Balawajder says the Lukas Walton-backed family office takes a wide-ranging approach to its search for fund and direct investments that promote regenerative practices in agriculture.

Frank Austin says the firm is pursuing a $500m regenerative and organic permanent crop strategy designed to deliver double-digit returns without relying on organic price premiums.

The firm’s debut farmland vehicle will pursue an own-and-operate strategy and expects regenerative farmland certification to act as a ‘strategic value lever’.

The credit vehicle has been backed by more than a dozen LPs, including the Rockefeller Foundation.

The sale represents Cibus Capital’s first exit of a wholly owned portfolio company from the $322m Cibus Fund I.

The firm has added the leafy greens business to its portfolio of companies which includes permanent crops businesses and an irrigation solutions provider.

Co-founders Ellie Rubenstein and Ross Iverson discuss the added value role the firm plays for LPs and why they receive queries about their portfolio companies as soon as they close a deal.

The firm intends to transition the whole farm to organic certified production and will use regenerative practices such as planting cover crops between tree rows.

As the sector grows, organic agriculture is facing a string of possibilities and challenges.

The separate account’s buy-and-lease strategy was trialed by the GP in 2019 and involves a flex lease arrangement that is conducive to organic farming.