The Nature Conservancy Invests in Agtech Startups

Tim Hammerich

News Reporter

The Nature Conservancy is a leading global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. They work with private and public partners to find practical and sustainable solutions to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. So why have they started investing in agtech startups? Director of Agriculture Innovation Renée Vassilos says it’s to accelerate their progress toward their soil health goals.

Vassilos… “There's been a tremendous body of work within The Nature Conservancy around what's required to build soil health. And so the research has been done around some of the critical practices we know build soil health. And it's not to say that these are the only practices or even that every farm operation, these are relevant for, but they are the most studied. So we're looking for technologies or innovative solutions or business models that will help scale acres under cover crop, increased rotations, acres under minimal till / no-till, and input optimization.”

The organization has already invested in seven early stage companies that are designed to make progress in these areas.

Vassilos... “We will never reach our audacious soil health building goals if we do not tap into this early stage tech and innovation ecosystem.”

Learn more about their investments so far at www.nature.org/aginnovation.