Agribusiness  April 13, 2018

Local author discusses why it’s important to invest in small farms

BOULDER — Woody Tasch’s book on investing includes an epic poem, the science of soil fertility and a photo gallery of Boulder farmers.

Woody Tasch

Tasch is the founder of the Slow Money movement, a movement that encourages people to invest their money in local small farms if they want their funds to make a social impact. His first book, “Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms and Fertility Mattered” was published in 2008. It since sparked a movement of $60 million being invested into 600 small food enterprises by their local communities.

Tasch’s new book, “SOIL: Notes Toward the Theory and Practice of Nurture Capital,” was published last year and, along with epic poetry and photography, outlines a model (Slow Opportunities for Investing Locally, or SOIL) where communities can come together to form an investment pool with zero-percent interest and low-interest loans for local farmers and food processors.

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“In responding to a wave of local farmers coming on and needing new equipment, many of them are not candidates for traditional banking loans,” Tasch told BizWest on Thursday while waiting to participate on a panel at the Conference on World Affairs. “So local community members are supporting it with zero-percent interest loans and low-interest loans. They’re willing to take a lower return because they recognize the value small farms, farm-to-table restaurants, regional grain mills have.”

SOIL: Notes Towards the Theory and Practice of Nurture Capital is the new book by Woody Tasch.

Tasch said his new book is a cultural exploration of farming and how local investment can help it grow. To change our farming practices from agribusiness back to agriculture requires a lot of creativity, which is why Tasch said he imbued his new book with so much photography and poetry.

“We need to allow ourselves to think creatively about the issues to have direct, grassroots action,” he said.

Tasch also said for Slow Money investing to be successful, those who are investing need to be agnostic about the returns they make. The investing is more philanthropic, and more about creating an investment pool for local farmers to tap into. Although funds using the SOIL method will start small, Tasch said they could slowly grow to the point where they provide millions within a generation of investing in it and in the farmers who use it.

Tasch is testing the SOIL method in Boulder, where he lives, and where he founded the nonprofit Slow Money Institute. He also started a new group doing SOIL investing, where 75 members have come together to create a $235,000 pool of investment so far. Individual investments range between $250 and $50,000 he said. The group has made its first investment, with $12,000 going to Black Cat Boulder.

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Tasch’s view on small farming was reaffirmed at the panel he spoke at, “Real Food Security and the Future of Small Farms.”

“To have small farms in the future is very likely,” said Raoul Adamchak, farm manager for the University of California at Davis student farm. “But the challenge is that small farmers are relatively low income people and they need support from the community to survive. They’re not as secure as we’d like them to be.”

As Tasch’s movement grows, he told BizWest he’d like to see society begin to recognize the long term costs of what we’re eating in regards to our health and the health of the environment.

“There are broader cultural considerations,” he said. “It’s time to roll our sleeves up and turn to a new direction. And local farming is a fun way to do that.”

Those interested in learning more about Tasch’s new book, SOIL, can attend the upcoming meeting of Mad Agriculture’s Farm Forum on April 19, which will be dedicated to discussing topics in the book, Tasch said.

 

BOULDER — Woody Tasch’s book on investing includes an epic poem, the science of soil fertility and a photo gallery of Boulder farmers.

Woody Tasch

Tasch is the founder of the Slow Money movement, a movement that encourages people to invest their money in local small farms if they want their funds to make a social impact. His first book, “Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms and Fertility Mattered” was published in 2008. It since sparked a movement of $60 million…

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