December News and Updates
A Holiday Message
The ups and downs of COP28 garnered most of the headlines this month. One bright spot that many outside of food and ag circles may have missed was the $7billion pledged toward agriculture and climate transition. In addition, 158countries signed the COP28UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action, a voluntary, but hopeful sign of policy change ahead.
As we reflect on 2023, we cherish the memories of a different gathering, our Open House and Portfolio Event in October. For a few days in person, we shared our ideas, energy, and successes with a group that is actively making an impact for our climate and food system. The work of this group is “proving ground” for policies that may follow COP28.
As the year winds down and many of us focus on celebrations with family and friends, please know we are celebrating all of you who share in the mission to build a healthy, just, and resilient food system. You make the world a better place. We hope you can take time this season to rejuvenate and rejoice. We have so much good work to do together in the New Year ahead.
Portfolio Additions
Agricarbon
The Nest participated in an £9 million Series A funding boost for soil carbon solution, Agricarbon. Agricarbon offers accurate, affordable, and direct measurement of soil carbon, providing unmatched ground-truthing for regenerative agriculture. Agricarbon launched operations in Europe in 2022 and North America this year. Their solution is leveraged by food and beverage companies, carbon project developers and natural capital asset managers.
Olombria
Two years ago, The Nest added Olombria to our portfolio. Olombria’s innovative combination of technology and natural pollinator behavior has had remarkable success in field trials. Learn how their solution uses biodesign to improve pollination and address the pollinator crisis in this month’s interview with founder, Tashia Tucker.
Events
Echo24
Marie Delvaulx, General Manager of Domaine de Graux, will be one of the keynote speakers on sustainability at Echo24, the annual conference for the event sector. The event will take place 6 February,2024, at Hi! Site of Grimbergen, Belgium. Discover the full program at www.echo24.be
Regenerative Food Systems Investment Europe
The Nest’s Anouk Schoors will be a featured speaker at Regenerative Food Systems Investment Europe, 28-29 February, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium. The Nest is proud to be a sponsor for farmer scholarships, which cover registration fees for producers.
Portfolio News
Gift of Monarch MK-V Tractor Helps with Food Security and Farmer Education
Farm to Pantry, a Sonoma County foodbank, via an anonymous organization and Sonoma Land Trust Translated, gifted a farm worker community garden with a Monarch MK-V tractor. El Jardin del Pueblo (the people’s garden) is a three-acre garden that helps alleviate food insecurity in Sonoma County by growing culturally familiar foods for farm workers. The Monarch MK-V is equipped with a bi-lingual screen, helping the community gain high-tech skills along with harvesting food.
Going Against the Grain: How Walden Mutual Supports and Entire “Grain Chain”
It’s baking season for many of us, but especially in New England where Walden Mutual’s community-centered finance builds both community and an entire “grain chain” from field to bakery, and mill to brewery. Learn how Walden Mutual supports “a value chain of incredibly connected, resilient, and passionate owners and operators.”
Propagate Planted 80,000 Trees in 2023
The team at Propagate shared impressive year-end metrics, including the planting of 80k trees and planning of 1000+farms. The team also launched a fundraise of $30 million for Agroforestry Partners, the largest fund exclusively supporting adoption of chestnut agroforestry for American farms. Read their year-end summary on LinkedIn.
In the News
The Nest Team
Anouk Schoors and Louis Dhont of The Nest appear in a series of three interviews for On Good Terms. The topics include differences between an investment firm and a family office, impact investing and returns, and resilience of the food system.
Quick Organics
Builders Initiative, an impact investment group, shares Quick Organics’ founder story in their post, “How Quick Organics is Working to Transform the Organic Certification Process.”
Astanor Ventures
Astanor Ventures welcomed new operational partner, Thomas Nagy, to build global reach and add biotechnology expertise.
Opportunities
Regenerative Food Systems Investment (RFSI)is hiring for a Relationship Manager and Sales Lead.
Atomo is hiring for four positions: Production Technician, Food Processing Maintenance Technician, Product Manager, and Food Quality Assurance Specialist.
From the Farm
We close our posts for 2023, with this stunning image of double rainbows over the fields at Domaine de Graux, where our guest sheep are busy working on soil improvement among the winter cover crops.
“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life." ~ Wendell Berry, 2015. “The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture”, p.70, Counterpoint.