The huddles this week focused on remembering Ruth Bader Ginsberg, resilient farming, and business models that rock. Listen to and watch the recording here.
Talking Points
- Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsberg
- Because of her tireless work on the rights on behalf of women, women have a possibility of a different life than she did as a young woman
- Never thought of herself as a feminist but her experiences made her realize a lot of things that she wanted to change
- Resilient Agriculture: Environmental Defense Fund released the Financing Resilient Agriculture Report
- Great appendix of resources with budget analysis and conservation practices
- Focused toward lenders, how resilient farming can mitigate risk for lenders, could be a major part of the solution to current climate issues, and raise the cost of farmland with better soils.
- Crop Insurance Limitations
- Primarily for a narrow swath of crops
- Major percentage used by large farms, small farms
- Ag lenders won’t provide operating loans without crop insurance
- Ex: You can’t get buckwheat crop insurance
- More resiliency means increased crop diversity which means a change in crop insurance needs to be revisited
- Are we reaching a tipping point in people’s readiness to do something about climate variability/change? How could farming be part of the solution instead of spotlighted in a negative way?
Tips & Next Steps
- Edible-Alpha® Live! – Virtual Event December 8th and 9th, 2020
- Showcasing different lanes for impact investing in ag and food
- Food Finance Institute is mentoring these businesses
- Podcasts coming out with each business
- Tips from Breadtopia, a 100% online sales baking supplies company
- Building a contact list with newer generations
- Uses Instagram more than Facebook, seems to be better for their business
- Give information to people that is useful for their purchases
- Atlantic Sea Farms, kelp farm in Maine
- Started as an economic development project. Lobster fishermen not active in winter and is an industry that will be greatly impacted by climate change – a proactive idea to start kelp farming.
- Successful but put the cart before the horse, no market for kelp.
- Created a brand for fermented kelp and got high-end chefs to introduce the products.
- Join Sari Kimbell of Food Business Success in her latest podcast! Sari and our very own Tera Johnson discuss the importance of managing your cash flow as a startup business, especially during a pandemic, and tools to help you. Listen here: https://www.foodbizsuccess.com/4
- For those interested in more from the perspective of female SCOTUS justices, here’s a 1.5-hour interview with Kagan and Sotomayor from Oct 2018. Recorded at Princeton, where they’re both alums. https://youtu.be/h0p8IHfFs4g
- Something to chew on: John Lewis said something analogous re democracy:
- Democracy is not a state. It is an act…The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.
- Building a contact list with newer generations
- Tips from Breadtopia, a 100% online sales baking supplies company
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