By Cami Froneberger
Commitment to a sustainable planet through supporting farmers is a key company value here at Harvest Returns. By connecting agriculturists with passive investors, we believe we can build a more resilient food system and help farmers stay in the business of farming. Our team is proud to share in our sponsors' success stories and continue to watch them grow every quarter.
Capra Foods
As the only certified lamb program in the country, Capra Foods has set a standard to produce the highest quality lamb. This has allowed them to become the top producer of premium Dorper lamb in the U.S. Their deep roots in the historic ranching community of Goldthwaite, Texas connects them to family ranchers with generations of expertise with a dedication to regenerative ranching practices as well. These regenerative practices are implemented throughout their network of ranches helping to increase biodiversity, enrich soils, enhance ecosystems, and more.
Recently, Capra Foods has expanded their product supply to all Central Market stores throughout the Lone Star State as a part of their full-time fresh lamb program. Their popular lamb tamales can also be found in any Central Market or Costco in Texas.
Since Dorper sheep are bred for meat, there is no gamey flavor from lanolin produced by wool sheep. Lamb is also an excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and is especially high in B vitamins, zinc, and iron. Capra Foods wholeheartedly believes in the benefits of lamb in the diet and what they proudly call the “Dorper Difference”.
Healthy Cow
Healthy Cow is on a mission to help dairy farmers proactively care for their cattle with innovative health solutions. In 2014, founders Richard Strafehl, Louis Hui, and Dr. Edward Robb brought their backgrounds in biology and veterinary medicine together to start making a difference in dairy cattle health. Their holistic method of using science-based solutions also allows dairy farmers to produce higher-quality milk.
Their first product, ProPreg™, utilizes a blend of natural prebiotics and probiotics to maintain a healthy reproductive microbiome during the critical transition period of dairy cattle. This provides defenses against pathogens and infections. ProPreg™ also supports initiatives on dairies to reduce the usage of antibiotics and disinfectants.
Healthy Cow is now showcasing ProPreg™ to many ag-accelerators. They have also established research and distribution partnerships with DFA (Dairy Farmers of America), Kent Nutrition Group, and EastGen Genetics. Since recently launching ProPreg™, the team now looks forward to building their product line to positively impact dairy cattle health.
AfterLife
Utilizing food waste to grow mushrooms is just one innovation behind AfterLife. The New York-based company is dedicated to simplifying the process of up-cycling food scraps from food establishments and turning them into delicious mushroom varieties. Their process is sustainable, affordable, and transparent.
AfterLife tracks food waste data on a daily basis, making it easy for their customers to track their ESG goals. They also track waste to produce, so their customers know exactly where the product is from.
As one of the best decomposers on Earth, fungi break down food waste and sequester the carbon in their mycelium root network. Mushrooms also come with several health benefits making them an in-demand food. AfterLife can grow up to 18 different strains of mushrooms, and are currently focused on Lion's Mane, Blue Oyster, and Maitake. Their current space and equipment allow them to grow up to 500 lbs of mushrooms a week.
Precision Livestock Technology
When it comes to feedlot bunk management, cattle feeding behaviour, and herd health, Precision Livestock Technologies (PLT) has all the boxes checked. Their comprehensive machine vision sensor technology helps cattle producers track and monitor feeding decisions for their herd. The PLT System helps increase livestock quality, while also reducing labor shortages and identifying sick animals.
The system consists of rugged camera units overlooking bunklines. The advanced artificial intelligence of the system can make accurate assessments of cattle within a feedlot herd. With information compiled into graphs and charts, they also make it easy for producers to analyze their data.
Precision Livestock Technologies recently announced the successful close of an approximately $1 million preferred equity financing, co-led by MLJ Fund 1, LP of College Station, Texas, and Checkmate Capital Group of Pasadena, California. They have also partnered with Checkmate Capital Group as their strategic and international advisor.