iSelect Fund’s Post

What Learned This Week...... I saw no reason to watch debates this week. Instead, focusing on arbitrage in the AgTech venture market, renewable fuels, and improving rural healthcare. We are at a point in the investment cycle where the answer to the $1.9T in healthcare cost of poor nutrition will come from the farmers and entrepreneurs who figure out how to take the pressure from healthcare, Ozempic, and climate and turn it into a set of innovations that solve for all three. The innovations will likely come from the co-optimization of seed genetics, soil health, and food science. Combined with increased leadership from farmers and decreased market power of the processors. AI is the enabling force multiplier if it integrates with practical on-farm knowledge to co-create affordable nutrition. 1) Affordable nutrition will replace cheap calories. 2) The $53M investment by Andreessen Horowitz in Mark Hyman, MD Function Health is noteworthy. 3) Midwest farmers have an opportunity to tackle health in their local community. Increasing production of local fresh regenerative produce and collaborating with the rural health system to reduce diabetes. 4) Does anyone have any idea what to do with all the excess soybean meal from renewable diesel? 5) Both presidential candidates will support expansion into sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel because it is what farmers and export markets want. 6) If the Feds back out of 45z, blue states, foreign markets, climate billionaires, and corporations will fund the $5B to $10B in subsidy needed to close the business case. 7) Crop genetics and microbiome innovators need to develop technology that positively correlates crop energy and nutrient density—concurrently optimizing soil and genetics. 8) US fruit and vegetable production should move from California to the Mississippi Delta region. 9) CPGs know enough about regenerative agriculture to be dangerous. Farmers need to define best regenerative practices that work in their region. CPGs should shape the branding and food science. 10) Farmers working in a collective of 500k+ acres have the power to disrupt Co-Ops, Processors, nutrient density, and health. 11) To understand agriculture, Nestle, Unilever, BlackRock, JPM, etc need to hire FFA alumni as fast as possible. (Scott Stump) 12) South Asia and Southeast Asia (SASEA) are globalization's next frontier. Taking manufacturing from China. SADEA is a growing early adopter market for soy-based foods. 13) 10% of GHG is agriculture. If capital does not step in to fund recent venture shortfalls, we will lose 10 years of AgTech innovation required for affordable GHG mitigation. 14) H2 2024 and H1 2025 AgTech investments will likely be the best vintage year returns in decades. 15) My 2 cents on the Presidential debate is that a nutrient-dense diet rich in fresh vegetables improves golf handicaps in octogenarians. #foodishealth Brad Fruth Ellen Brown Clint Brauer Erin W. Martin Katie Stebbins Shari Rogge-Fidler