Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin

🌍 Did you miss the discussion on how livestock can help solve the climate crisis? 🌱 Ertharin Cousin, FSF Founder & CEO was part of a powerful conversation at the The James Beard Foundation + Food Tank Summit on the role of livestock in addressing climate change during #ClimateWeek2024. Panelists shared critical insights on sustainable livestock management, methane reduction, and the need for strong policy and financial frameworks to drive real change. 💡 Access the recording here to catch up on their valuable perspectives: https://lnkd.in/dDBAHd3r #ClimateCrisis #SustainableAgriculture #MethaneReduction #FoodSystems

51

1 Comment

Small Business, Big Solutions: How Small Farmers Lead the Way. The landscape of small businesses, the small farm is emerging as the ultimate model for sustainability, health, and community resilience. At a time when large-scale agriculture dominates the narrative, small farms are quietly transforming how we think about food, the environment, our health, and our economy. The USDA has acknowledged that over 90% of U.S. farms are small family farms, yet they generate only 21% of agricultural production revenue highlighting grave disparity in our food system. Trust me those stats directly correlate back to our health system but more on that later. Here’s the reality: Small farms are more than a place to grow food—they’re a business model that embodies everything we need for a better future. • Sustainable by Design: Small farms operate with the land, not against it. By prioritizing regenerative practices, they restore soil health, capture carbon, conserve water, and foster biodiversity. It’s a business rooted in sustainability, not exploitation. • Healthier Communities: America’s health is on a steady decline, with diet-related diseases reaching epidemic proportions. Small farms are more likely to be chemical free and grow nutrient-dense, clean food while offering a direct connection to the source—removing the disconnect that has plagued the industrial food system. • A Local Economy That Thrives: Unlike many businesses, small farms directly feed their communities. They create fair-wage jobs, keep dollars circulating locally, and fill the gaps where food deserts once existed. The small farm is everything a great small business should be: mission-driven, community-focused, and endlessly innovative. It’s the best kind of business for our bodies, our planet, and our future. But small farms can’t survive without community support. To thrive, farmers need partnerships, fair pay for goods, and customers who value local, sustainable food systems. They need people like you to see them not as a niche, but as the backbone of a new, healthier economy. This Small Business Saturday, I challenge you to rethink what “small business” means. Support the small farmer—not just for the fresh produce, but for the larger story of hope they’re growing for all of us. The small farm is the new best small business. And it has the power to save the world. How will your home or company support your local small farmer? https://lnkd.in/exTh6QF5 #SmallBusinessSaturday #SupportLocal #SmallFarms #RegenerativeAgriculture #Sustainability #FoodIsMedicine

17

The Climate-Smart Commodities Grant is a funding initiative aimed at supporting projects that promote #climatesmart agricultural practices. We've teamed up with National Sorghum Producers (NSP) to equip their growers with technology and resources to participate in grant incentives. Key partnership highlights include: - Farmers Edge will work as a technology partner with NSP to enable seamless data capture of essential farm metrics, including Carbon Intensity Scores. - Growers can leverage data and FarmCommand, our end-to-end platform, to monitor progress and support climate-smart farm management decisions. - Growers can gain access to new revenue streams, supporting the long-term viability of the farm. Read more about our work with NSP here -> https://lnkd.in/g6MEdjhq #ClimateSmart #CommodititiesGrant #USDA #Sustainabililty #SustainableAg #AgTech #Sorghum

12

From Ayorinde Ogunyiola Maaz Gardezi Ryan Stock "Precision Agriculture raises critical social questions that have implications for farmers’ autonomy and control over agrarian production systems. We critically examine the social consequences of PA through the theoretical lenses of accumulation by dispossession and the agrarian question of labor. We use data from six focus group discussions conducted during the Fall of 2019 in heterogeneous production systems in South Dakota and Vermont. We assert that agritech firms design PA technologies as accumulation strategies predicated on the dispossession of farmers’ autonomy and control over agrarian production systems. As such, PA is fundamentally reconfiguring the future of agrarian labor in the US food system." https://lnkd.in/eqbzS6TT

18

2 Comments

Florida sued over lab meat ban, winter wheat planting is underway, and USDA to allow H5N1 vaccine trials for dairy cows. Farmer confidence is falling, Impossible and Motif end legal dispute, and a new app matches strangers for a meal. Common questions I get from ag stakeholders: What #agtech should I be looking for? Do I need agtech? Where do I go to find the right agtech? What should it cost? It’s difficult to navigate the dynamic agtech landscape. We could use a trusted advisor in agtech. The agtech entrepreneurs that become trusted advisors will unlock enormous value. I’ll explain how in this week’s newsletter. #agtechfriday #agriculture #advisor #trust #startups #innovation #trustedtech #agtwitter #agtechadvisor https://lnkd.in/gBgcGDEy

7

🌍💥 Unmasking Big Meat & Dairy: The Hidden Culprits of Climate Inaction 💥 Following on from the February 2024 report by The Freedom Food Alliance disinformation report, Changing Markets Foundation has continued the conversation on how the powerful agribusiness giants are deploying distraction, delay, and derailment tactics to obstruct global environmental progress. Key findings include: 🐄 Extensive lobbying to block climate policies 🐄 Greenwashing and weak net zero targets 🐄 Targeted disinformation campaigns to Gen Z 🐄 ‘Unproven technofixes’ that taxpayers foot the bill for,  🐄 Delaying much-needed transition to more plant-based diets. It’s time to hold these industries accountable and champion a sustainable future for our planet. Link to my commentary below 👇

92

9 Comments

🚨 510 million smallholder farmers are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, facing challenges that threaten their crop production. Many of them are among the 733 million people experiencing hunger. As Daphne Ewing-Chow writes, "the finance gap is massive—and time is running out." Read more in Forbes: https://bit.ly/3CBUoIo #COP29 #SmallholderFarmers #ClimateAction #EndHunger | COP29 Azerbaijan | CGIAR Climate Impact Platform

12

1 Comment

What is a nutrition investment? Although many development partners, DFIs, and impact investors recognize the need to invest in sustainable food systems that ensure greater availability and affordability of nutritious foods for all, there was no common definition of the types of businesses and projects they should be targeting. To help USAID and its partners execute its nutrition financing activities effectively, Wellspring Development Capital Ltd developed a nutrition-lens investing framework. Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP) is now sharing the framework more widely to help increase both the quality and volume of nutrition impact generated by the impact investing community by providing clear guidance on what constitutes a “nutrition investment”. https://lnkd.in/dGDDcZbT The framework includes:  ➡ A nutrition-lens investing theory of change, highlighting key impact pathways (e.g., production, processing and packaging, storage, distribution, and marketing) that investors can target     ➡ Deal screening criteria linked to food products and impact pathways ➡ A downloadable Excel tool that investment officers can use to speed up the screening process This initiative is timely as we look forward to the upcoming Africa Food Systems Forum, where leaders and stakeholders from across the continent will gather to discuss and advance solutions for food systems transformation, to get nutritious foods to underserved markets. The forum offers a valuable platform to align our efforts and strategies with the latest insights and opportunities in the field. Thank you to Joel Moktar and Michael Shaw from Wellspring Development and Leah Lucas, formerly from Wellspring Development for leading this work, and to USAID champions Songbae Lee and Adina Kuncz Rebecca Egan This work was conducted through USAID’s Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP) Activity led by DAI. #AFSForum2024

50

11 Comments

Nutrition is a topic that all of us at Wellspring are passionate about. Over the past few years we've advised donors, investors, and businesses on the linkages between their investments and nutrition outcomes, as well as the win-wins and trade-offs between nutrition, climate, and jobs and livelihoods. One thing we've found is a lack of consensus among investors and DFIs about what constitutes a "nutrition investment", which isn't surprising given food systems are complex and the different pathways to increasing the availability and affordability of nutritious foods can be very context specific. But this shouldn't put off impact investors and DFIs from trying to invest for nutrition impact. Over the past couple of years we've worked with the USAID team (Rebecca Egan, Songbae Lee, Adina Kuncz) to develop and test a simple nutrition-lens investing framework and tool to help guide their nutrition financing activities. We're now sharing this more widely to help impact investors and DFIs to identify nutrition investments - please take a look and share feedback! Thanks also to all those who input along the way, including Ekin Birol Stella Nordhagen Roberta Bove Brian Milder Eddah Makinia Nangole Yasser Toor Doreen Hashemi Joshua Bicknell Leah Lucas Jonathan Thomas Daniella Maor

19

3 Comments

🌍💰 New Episode Alert: The World of Agricultural Subsidies with Jack Courts and Shannen Barrett 🎧 Dive into the complex realm of agricultural subsidies in the latest episode of The Ag Culture Podcast. Join Jack Courts and Shannen Barrett as they unpack the diverse subsidy practices across the globe and explore their profound effects on farming techniques and market trends. This episode provides an in-depth look at how different countries implement financial supports for agriculture and the resulting implications for global agricultural economics. Whether you're a farmer, policy maker, or just a curious listener, this discussion will offer valuable insights into the pivotal role subsidies play in shaping the agricultural landscape. 🔊 Tune in on your favorite platform to gain a comprehensive understanding of agricultural subsidies and their impact worldwide. The episode is available on all main platforms: https://lnkd.in/g85SqSwP #AgCulturePodcast #AgriculturalSubsidies #Subsidies #GlobalAg #Agriculture #Ag #GlobalFarming #JackCourts #Economics #Farming #Farmers #Nuffield #NuffieldInternational #NuffieldJourney #Brazil #Germany #Ireland #Texas #GlobalAgriculture #FutureofAg #FutureofFarming #ShannenBarrett #FarmingEconomics #ListenNow #Podcast

1

File under #PROJECT25's PLAN FOR #AGRICULTURE If we could only just trust the market, on its own, to internalize its externalities. Project 25's chapter addressing the role of USDA and providing a policy roadmap for the next incoming President: https://lnkd.in/gE3ApUV4 Its singular author, Daren Bakst, is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment. Before he was Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at The Heritage Foundation. And before that, counsel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Before that at John Locke Foundation as director of legal and regulatory studies. His broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights. Notice how his background and expertise isn't farming or "agriculture." "American farmers efficiently and safely produce food to meet the needs of individuals around the globe. Because of the innovation and resilience of the nation’s farmers, American agriculture is a model for the world. If farmers are allowed to operate without unnecessary government intervention, American agriculture will continue to flourish, producing plentiful, safe, nutritious, and affordable food." If only this was backed up by the those pesky "facts..." "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can and should play a limited role, with much of its focus on removing governmental barriers that hinder food production or otherwise undermine efforts to meet consumer demand. The USDA should recognize what should be self-evident: Agricultural production should first and foremost be focused on efficiently producing safe food." Ah yes, this has been the Big Agriculture Industry lobbying motto since day one. Daren goes on, "...language bringing in equity and climate change is new to the Biden Administration and part of the USDA’s express effort to transform agricultural production. The USDA’s new vision statement illuminates the focus of this effort: An equitable and climate smart food and agriculture economy that protects and improves the health, nutrition and quality of life of all Americans, yields healthy land, forests and clean water, helps rural America thrive, and feeds the world. This effort is one of a federal central plan to put climate change and environmental issues ahead of the most important requirements of agriculture—to efficiently produce safe food. The USDA would apparently use its power to change the very nature of the food and agriculture economy into one that is “equitable and climate smart.” As an initial matter, the USDA should not try to control and shape the economy, but should instead remove obstacles that hinder food production. Further, it should not place ancillary issues, such as environmental issues, ahead of agricultural production itself." So back to me, curious, if you work for a US Agribusiness, what political party is your employer and shareholders donating and lobbying behind closed doors?

5

this is a cause for concern, and possibly need greater transparency and awareness in the supply chain. all points are well made in this article, perhaps we need traceability of source at the demand point whether it is nurseries, mining companies or carbon sequestration companies they need to have some form of check-in to ensure seeds they purchase have been ethically sourced. hmmm... I suppose only way of knowing is to be assured of integrity of the seed supplier.

30

4 Comments

When we follow the principles of soil health and let those principles guide our management decisions, we harness the self-healing, self-regulating, and self-perpetuating capacity of natural systems to be profitable. The principles are universal, regardless of context. Specific tools used will vary depending upon context. Want to learn more? Attend a Soil Health Academy or contact Understanding Ag, LLC - Experts in Regenerative Ag.

1

The emphasis on agribusiness and economically oriented solutions to sustainability may in fact be doing more harm than good for communities who live in—and make their livelihoods from—traditional social-ecological systems. https://lnkd.in/gnR8RnGS

2

Great article on the growing investments into regenerative agriculture strategies. Thx to The Conservation Finance Network for profiling Conservation Resources' farmland investment strategy. #farmlandinvestment #regenerativeagriculture

21

Farmers, rural communities, and frontline communities need emergency assistance, but also a safety net and long term federal programs that are realistic to building on farm resilience to #climatechange. Until we have a #FarmBill proposal that is adaptive, dynamic and makes the bold investments needed to respond to our #climatecrisis, we will always be underprepared and underesourced to face these challenges. Today we can donate to help our those in need, but long term and bold investments for #climateaction are necessary. https://lnkd.in/e3UJ7AU5

26