The multistakeholder investment platform catalyzed $3m in equity investment soil microbiome testing startup Trace Genomics and $535k in grant funding for three research projects.
Rajiv Singh, the former CEO of Rabobank North America, writes about FoodShot’s search for projects and ideas that utilize the latest in technology, science, and engineering to address the crisis of soil deterioration ahead of the January 8, 2019 deadline.
These provisions include funding for a new USDA pilot project that will incentivize farmers, through payments, to adopt agricultural practices aimed at improving soil health and sequestering organic soil carbon.
A rising chorus of investors and stakeholders, along with some farmers, are beginning to spread the message that the health of the soil is just as important as the health of the plants growing in it.
Soil is the largest living organism on earth, yet humans know far more about our solar system than we do the top six inches of soil on this planet. Soil testing offers some amazing opportunities for farmers to find new efficiencies within their operations and to increase yields but we are just starting to scratch the surface.
Earth Day provides a prime opportunity to reflect on the state of environmental sustainability in the food and agriculture industry.
There’s still a long way to go before we have a complete understanding of soil health and how it interacts with plant growth, according to Bill Buckner, president and CEO of the Noble Foundation.
