Tag: organic agriculture

Iroquois Valley named to the IA 50 for the twelfth consecutive year

Written by Lacey Benz on March 12, 2024. Posted in News & Media.

The 2024 edition of the IA 50 features private impact fund managers delivering social and environmental impact as well as financial returns. In partnership with the ImpactAssets Press Release – NEW YORK – March 12th, 2024 ImpactAssets Unveils IA 50 2024, Showcasing 155 Impact Fund Managers Globally from Record Number of Applicants Iroquois Valley is honored to be named an Emeritus Manager by ImpactAssets in its annual Impact Assets (IA 50). The IA 50 is a free, publicly...

Earth Day 2022: Investing in Our Planet

Written by Lacey Benz on April 22, 2022. Posted in News & Media.

Fresh basil from one of the newest farms in our portfolio, Sumac Creek Farm in Kankakee County, IL Earth Day is here, and we are grateful that there is a day devoted to raising awareness about environmental issues and celebrating our planet. The official theme for Earth Day 2022 is “Invest in Our Planet”, and it highlights the importance of holding businesses, governments, and citizens accountable for the future of our planet. Some recommended resources about Earth Day can be...

Organic Farming Research Foundation publishes the 2022 National Organic Research Agenda

Written by Lacey Benz on March 28, 2022. Posted in News & Media.

Iroquois Valley is proud to have partnered with the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) to support their work in publishing the 2022 National Organic Research Agenda (NORA). This report details organic research needs with the goal of informing future investments to support the success of organic farmers and ranchers and those transitioning to organic production. We are pleased to report that a number of farmers in the Iroquois Valley portfolio contributed to this research by...

Animal welfare at Iroquois Valley partner farms

Written by Lacey Benz on December 8, 2020. Posted in What We're Reading.

Heritage pigs grazing at Singing Pastures, one of our partner farms in Maine We’re often asked why Iroquois Valley invests in operations that include livestock. Animal agriculture is an incredibly complex topic and it looks different across farms and across the food system. We support farmers who raise animals in ways that regenerate our soils and our ecosystems by only partnering with farmers who raise animals on pastures managed organically. There is an alternative to the...

Iroquois Valley partners with the Organic Farming Research Foundation

Written by Lacey Benz on April 30, 2020. Posted in News & Media.

Iroquois Valley is proud to partner with the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) by supporting their research to learn more about the challenges and research priorities of organic farmers and ranchers, as well as farmers and ranchers transitioning land to certified organic production. The project includes two national surveys—one for certified organic producers, and the other for producers transitioning to organic certification. The project includes two national surveys—one for...

Organic farmers to harvest record acres in 2019

Written by Lacey Benz on November 14, 2019. Posted in News & Media.

Organic agriculture is growing – in 2019, 8.3 million acres were planted and certified organic in the US. This equates to 18,155 organic farms and a 3% jump from 2018. Mercaris, a leading data provider for organic and non-gmo markets, recently released their Annual Acreage Report and Organic Farm Heat Map, which highlights density and distribution of US organic farm operations. Highlights of the report include: Organic grain farmers will harvest a record amount of acres in...

If We Want to Change Our Food System, We Need to Change Our Finance System

Written by Lacey Benz on November 8, 2019. Posted in News & Media.

Heritage breed pigs at Yker Acres Farm in Carlton County, MN While organic farming is growing, only 1% of all U.S. farmland is farmed organically. We’re looking to change that by providing secure, long-term land access for regenerative farmers. Key quotes: Our investment theory is that land security enables land stewardship — we believe that farmers will thrive when they’re backed by long-term capital that shares risk. In our experience, there’s no shortage of farmers who...

Is Organic Farming Risky?

Written by Lacey Benz on October 25, 2019. Posted in What We're Reading.

The National Center for Appropriate Technology recently released a report evaluating risk in organic agriculture based on five years of research. “I’m able to report that we found no strong evidence that organic farms are any riskier than non-organic ones, and at least some evidence to the contrary”, says Jeff Schahczenski, an Agriculture and Natural Resource Economist who helped author the report. Our own farmer partner, Doug Crabtree, who operates Vilicus Farms...

2018 SRI Conference: The 29th Annual Conference for Sustainable, Responsible & Impact Investing

Written by Lacey Benz on November 1, 2018. Posted in Events.

Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT is excited to sponsor the 2018 SRI Conference in Colorado Springs! This marks the eighth consecutive year that Iroquois Valley will be attending and the fifth straight year as a sponsor of the event. SRI brings together the largest group of socially responsible investment advisors in the country, and Iroquois Valley Founder and CEO Dave Miller is excited to be reconnecting with many of the financial professionals that helped build the Company into the $50 million...