January 31, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Tall Grass Ventures, a Canadian investment firm with a focus on early-stage agri-food tech startups, announced it has welcomed Farm Credit Canada (FCC) as one of the largest investors in its inaugural fund – Tall Grass Fund I. 

“Tall Grass is excited to have the support of FCC as we continue to invest in helping companies — and their leaders — redefine the way our world produces its food, fuels, and fibers,” stated the company. 

Following a year that has proven to be challenging in regard to fundraising, Tall Grass’ record reflects the potential being seen in its mission and team, having successfully increased the total committed capital for Fund I three times over the course of 2023.

In addition to FCC, Tall Grass has gained support from several leading agriculture and food investors including leading grain and livestock producers from Manitoba and British Columbia; livestock feeders; commodity brokers and traders; financial services firms; private enquiry investors; technology founders; ag machinery executives; as well as from the energy, construction, and marketing sectors, and beyond. 

Joining this impressive roster is FCC, a federal Crown corporation with a loan portfolio exceeding CAD$44 billion (US$33 billion). FCC is also the leading agricultural lender in Canada, providing flexible and competitively priced financing and strategic venture capital needed by the country’s entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. 

“At FCC we have the opportunity to work with many leadership teams, innovators, investors and farmers across Canada,” said Rebbecca Clarke, vice president, FCC venture capital program. “The team at Tall Grass stood out as not only knowledgeable and easy to work with but also committed to using the tools of venture capital and private equity in a way that specifically applies to advancing agriculture on a Canadian and global scale.”

Tall Grass explained that in contrast to many investors that have a singular focus on returns, the Tall Grass team takes a wider view, examining how they are uniquely positioned to add value – a balanced, full-cycle strategy they believe leads to higher returns, called “Counterpoint”. 

Through its “Counterpoint” mandate, Tall Grass embodies a first principles approach to Fund I, working closely with their portfolio management teams to help build category defining businesses with a global impact in the food and ag spaces and to foster inter-portfolio collaborations that have proven to drive market leading financial results. 

The Fund I portfolio currently includes:

GeneNeer – a gene editing company with a trait regulation platform focused on new crop development. 

Vivid Machines – a company developing computer vision and machine learning technology to improve yields and productivity in fruit production by providing tree-level data in real time. 

Picketa Systems – a company offering real time plant tissue sampling to conduct nutrient analysis for growers and agribusinesses.

OneCup AI – a company monitoring and managing livestock using computer vision and AI. 

ZILA Works – the developer of a patented bio-epoxy resin made from industrial hemp. 

Ground Truth – the developer of a solution that improves the process of obtaining and grading grain samples. 

And, Store to Door – a platform allowing retailers the ability to offer cost-effect, same-day delivery. 

“It was apparent early on that Tall Grass was not ‘just another firm’ but a firm that is creative in how they apply the toolbox of venture capital and private equity to the opportunities across the marketplace,” said Clarke. “We look forward to a long relationship with Tall Grass.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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