Regenerative Agriculture

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’.

TransCap director of systemic investment programs Ivana Gazibara says the model being developed in the US Midwest could be extended into other key markets.

The rate of the sustainability-linked loan will be reduced by ‘a few basis points’ as GreenPods receives its organic and regenerative agriculture certifications.

CAM has added walnuts and pistachios to a portfolio that already includes investments in almonds and macadamia.

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

Practices based on working with nature are gaining momentum, but regenerative agriculture still has some teething troubles.

The firm will invest growth capital in companies supporting emissions avoidance in agriculture and emissions sequestration via natural assets.

The Australian vehicle has been preceded by a separate account worth ‘more than A$100m’ that is implementing a similar strategy and is about to close on two NSW properties.