IMP Matrix Rating: C4
What: Clear Frontier Meadowlarks Lands Fund I is a real assets fund dedicated to acquiring farmland and converting it to organic. The Fund’s investment strategy centers on purchasing land that will be productive under non-commodity farming practices, identifying top-tier farmer operators to whom to lease the land, and assisting those farmers in transitioning acquired farms to certified organic and regenerative practices. Clear Frontier aims to become the trusted source of certified organic products within its network of large food- and feed-grade companies, and to share the revenue from sales of organic products with its farmer operators. In an upside scenario, the Firm will augment returns by selling carbon offsets in newly established carbon credit markets, also splitting this revenue 50/50 with farmers.
Who: By acquiring farmland and transitioning it to sustainable practices, Clear Frontier helps catalyze systemic changes in U.S. agriculture, an industry that has historically been more harmful than helpful to the environment. Organic agriculture, in contrast to its conventional counterpart, presents a growing opportunity for climate change mitigation and adaptation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions; acting as a carbon sink via soil carbon sequestration; and promoting soil health, biodiversity, and resilient agro-ecosystems. Sustainable agriculture also generates social impact by helping to revitalize rural communities, improve agricultural livelihoods, and afford health benefits to food consumers.
How Much Impact: Upon acquiring a farmland property, the Fund team gathers extensive baseline data on cover cropping, tillage, water use, and other farming practices. They plan to track soil organic matter, carbon sequestration, and other metrics year over year across the portfolio.
Our Contribution: We invested in the first close of the fund, helping it to reach its target size. We felt it was crucial to contribute to changing agriculture at the heart of the American heartland, where some of the most unsustainable agriculture has taken place over the last century.
Impact Risk: The fund does not own, but leases land from the operator farms. Therefore, the main impact risk is that Clear Frontier will not directly work the lands it owns, giving the team less control over the transition to organic and regenerative practices.
Sample Investment: The fund has so far invested in over 3,000 acres across 6 family farms. The portfolio can be seen here.