Feature Story By Margy Eckelkam
USDA certification clears Farm Credit institutions to invest in the Farmers Innovation Fund — the financing arm of a network where farmers pick the startups, run the trials, and hold the equity.
“You bring it out to our farm, we’re going to break it. But we’re going to help you rebuild it better.”
That is how Joe Rowe describes what a farmer offers an ag technology startup. It is also, increasingly, a business proposition with a balance sheet behind it.
USDA Rural Development announced July 16 that the Farmers Innovation Fund has been certified as a Rural Business Investment Company, a designation that allows Farm Credit System institutions to invest as limited partners. The fund has secured multiple limited partner commitments and will supply early-stage capital to companies developing technologies that improve farm productivity, profitability, resilience and competitiveness.
