💡 Investment Notes: Why we invested in the Tiverton Agricultural Impact Fund

Investing across the agricultural value chain to scale regenerative land use.

In our quest to feed a rapidly growing global population, we turned to technological solutions to improve the way we grow our food. From high-yielding crop varieties, synthetic fertilizers, to pesticides, and more, we transformed global crop yields seemingly for the better.

But these productions have come at a cost. Beyond the better known issues such as pollution from agricultural runoff, yield efficiencies have also driven greater agricultural expansion and higher rates of deforestation in some regions of the globe (This finding supports what is known as Jevons Paradox hypothesis: the suggestion that improvements in the efficiency of resource utilization can perversely lead to increased consumption rather than conservation.) In fact, recent studies have found that global land use changes are four times greater than previously estimated, with a third of global land area changing in just the last six decades.

The growing expansion of agricultural lands all has obvious implications on biodiversity; The IPBES attributes ~50% of current biodiversity loss to land/sea use change and direct exploitation.

This is one of the reasons why at Silverstrand Capital, we believe in the need to think about agriculture more holistically, and create well-functioning biological systems within our agricultural landscapes. We believe that it is important to think about yield, carbon sequestration and climate in agriculture, but not only about that; we believe in the vital importance to also employ the right practices which regenerate and restore agricultural ecosystem health. 

The Tiverton Agriculture Impact Fund (TAIF) is a great example of this way of thinking. An Australia-based fund, TAIF employs an integrated approach to catalyze the growth of regenerative agriculture in the country and beyond. It invests in both diverse farming assets as well as enabling technology businesses, and also works with high-quality non-profit partners to create high-impact, long-lasting returns.

Here's more on why we believe in TAIF:

1. A practical, vertically-integrated approach to investing in regenerative agriculture

TAIF owns multiple mixed farming assets which it manages regeneratively. As operators of broadacre cropping, livestock, horticulture, and mixed timber enterprises, they are highly knowledgeable about the workings of the industry and its real-time trends.

Photo provided by TAIF

Their deep understanding of the farming business also sharpens their investing acumen into supporting innovations across agricultural value chains, with TAIF also invested in a number of enabling businesses for regenerative agriculture and forestry. These include Carbon Neutral, a leading expert in sustainable forestry and biodiverse tree plantings, RegenAGE, a biofertilizer company with a mission to revitalize soil health, and Downforce Technologies, an AI-powered remote-sensing company working to enable large scale measurements of soil carbon for better land management decision-making.

2. Purposeful partnerships resulting in direct biodiversity impact

Nigel Sharp, the founder at CEO of TAIF, is also the founder of Odonata Foundation, a reputable non-profit on a mission to save threatened species.

As part of this mission, the Odonata Foundation has established a network of threatened species sanctuaries, to support its extensive threatened species recovery programs. This includes a sanctuary at TAIF’s Orana Park farm. The team’s work has culminated in multiple species success stories, most recently the release of Eastern Quolls to Tiverton Sanctuary in Western Victoria, a small marsupial species endemic to Australia that outside of fenced reserves is extinct on the mainland.

Photo credit: Annette Ruzicka

Other highlights of TAIF’s work with Odonata includes the immanent release of locally extinct Bush-stone Curlews at Orana Park Sanctuary, as well as other conservation work of Koalas, Rufuos Bettong and Greater Gilder habitat at Picardy Station.

Besides its work with the Odonata Foundation, TAIF continues to explore partnerships with other mission-aligned organisations, which also includes The Nature Conservancy, which it has partnered on to run its Great Cumbung project (a 33,765 ha property which protects the Great Cumbung Swamp through sustainable harvesting of invasive species for firewood and pastoral rehabilitation).

3. An experienced team with strong focus on healthy organizational and workplace cultures

The founders of the fund, Nigel Sharp, Matt Davis (COO), and Harry Youngman (Executive Director), have been actively involved in the agricultural and real estate sectors for decades, and are supported by a highly capable managing team. Matt, for example, has been involved in water trading and water related agribusinesses for over 22 years, and was previously a Managing Director of a major Australian Securities listed agribusiness company and has also gad track record of success in managing distressed agricultural loans for Australian banks by working with their farmers. Harry has been in agricultural production and property investing for 25 years, specializing in building soil healthy through regenerative lamb and beef production, as well as forestry and indigenous grassland management. Besides Nigel's expertise in biodiversity and natural capital (and work with the Odonata Foundation), he brings a 30 year background as a qualified valuer, and experience running a listed company Trust.

In addition to the founders, the team includes Daniel Eason, the CFO, who possesses deep knowledge in managing accounting, tax, and legal aspects of agricultural properties. Daniel also oversees financial due diligence for non-property investments. Deborah Kiers, an advisor to the fund, plays a crucial role in overseeing organizational culture and team management.

The team's strength lies not only in their intentionality to make a positive impact on the landscapes they operate on, but in their experience and ability to execute on complex, diversified agricultural enterprises.

4. Strong, and intentional social co-benefits and pioneering work with First Nations communities

Through a collaboration with the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (ETNTAC), Odonata Foundation, and its investment company, Carbon Neutral, Tiverton co-facilitated a new model for First Nations land acquisition across Australia via the Kardutjaanup Rejuvenation Project. This work allowed ETNTAC to purchase a historically culturally significant piece of land in Western Australia, in order not only to plant native species, but allow the community to directly reap the benefits of the carbon market while bolstering local employment and home ownership.

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With over 50,000 ha of land under regenerative management and a number of species recovery programmes under their belt, TAIF has made a significant impact on the Australian agricultural landscape. The team at Silverstrand is proud to be supporting this mission-aligned organisation, as they continue to grow a community of practice in their field.

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You can find more about TAIF at its website, or on its Linkedin page.

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