Iroquois Valley has independently issued promissory notes since 2014 to offer investors a fixed-income security that supports organic farmers. We have a long history of deploying investor capital to meet farmers where they are, create innovative products, and generate deeply impactful returns. Our notes are available only to accredited investors.
Evolving to Meet Farmer Needs
Iroquois Valley is proud to offer the Rooted in Regeneration Note, which is a natural evolution responding to a particularly underserved demographic within the organic farming community – socially disadvantaged farmers – who are primarily Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC).
Historically, BIPOC farmers have faced significant barriers to accessing financing while overwhelmingly using organic and regenerative practices. Socially disadvantaged farmers represent 4.5% of all farmers in the US in 2017, compared to 13.3% in 1900. According to the World Wildlife Foundation, Indigenous people comprise less than 5% of the world population, but protect 80% of the Earth’s biodiversity in the forests, deserts, grasslands, and marine environments in which they have lived for centuries. We are proud to expand our support for borrowers through specialized and reparative products.
Mechanics to Achieve Impact
Investors in the Rooted in Regeneration Notes divert a portion of their return to a pool that provides discounts on the mortgage interest rate to eligible and participating farmers. Eligible farmers must be engaged in conservation practices and classified as socially disadvantaged under the USDA definition, which currently includes BIPOC farmers.