From our office in Frankfurt, we are delighted to be working with an exciting Australian agricultural business which is bringing hope and inspiration back to Australia’s wheatbelt.
We are showcasing Wide Open Agriculture (ASX: WOA: FWB: WOA) to impact investors, fund managers and family offices in Germany and the EU over the next few months.
Since listing in July 2018 WOA has moved closer to becoming a leading regenerative food company by forging real partnerships with farmers who are committed to building healthy soil, enhancing biodiversity and restoring the water cycle.
WOA is the world’s only publicly traded company seeking to deliver ‘4 returns’ – measurable outcomes on financial, natural, social, and inspirational returns.
The goal of WOA is to restore land in the farmland portfolio and create a globally trusted food brand offering regenerative grown meat and plant-based products to local and international markets.
What is regenerative farming?
Regenerative agriculture describes a broad set of production methods that achieves 2 distinct outcomes – the production of a high-quality food and the improvement of surrounding natural ecosystem. The farming practices utilised borrow from pre-industrial agriculture and include no tilling, crop rotation, reduced use or elimination of fertilisers and chemicals, properly managed livestock, polyculture and permaculture.
The regenerative farming practices work holistically to increase biodiversity, enrich soil, improve water-shed and enhance eco-systems. The results of which are increased yields, resilience to climate instability, and improved health and vitality for farming communities.
By capturing carbon in the soil and the aboveground biomass, regenerative agriculture seeks to reverse current trends of atmospheric accumulation and put in back in the ground where it belongs.
Profit and purpose
For an impact company being profitable is also essential as this creates a sustainable business and allows the business to broaden its contribution to communities and ecosystems. In June 2019 WOA shipped A$40,000 of regeneratively farmed beef and lamb to customers in Western Australia. This increased to A$55,000 in July 2019.
In coming months, WOA will launch online sales and develop its line of regenerative animal and plant-based products as the new food brand is launched and retail products and tested and finalised.
WOA is particularly excited about a plant-based oat drink. Recently, samples of a regeneratively sourced WA oats were sent to a plant-based milk manufacturer for initial development and testing of a WOA prototype.
Further land acquisitions
WOA has undertaken early stage due diligence on several other possible farmland assets in Western Australia. We are discussing these opportunities with impact investors, family offices, fund managers in Europe now.
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