Many small farmers are struggling financially against industrial-sized farms, however, thanks to Steward -- "a new online crowdfunding platform where individual investors can put money into modest, regenerative farms" -- these small farms are able to flourish. The platform is especially useful for sustainable farms that otherwise would be restricted to accessing government grants and bank loans.
“Almost all of the funding from agriculture comes through government policy [and] direct lending, either through the government or bank programs, and those programs aren’t flexible enough for the smaller, sustainable farms,” says Dan Miller, founder and CEO. To solve this problem, the crowdsourcing platform is targeting both large investors and everyday peoples and allows anyone in the United States to invest as little as $100 to specific sustainable farms.
Image Credit: Timothy Eberly/Unsplash
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Small Farm Crowdfunding
- Crowdfunding platforms focused specifically on small farms are disrupting traditional funding models for sustainable agriculture.
- Regenerative Farms
- The rise of crowdfunding platforms like Steward is encouraging the growth of regenerative farms that prioritize sustainability and environmental impact.
- Alternative Investment
- Steward's crowdfunding platform caters to individual investors who are seeking alternative investment opportunities in the agriculture industry.
Where This Applies
- Agriculture
- The agriculture industry can benefit from the disruptive innovation of small farm crowdfunding platforms, enabling small farmers to access funding and support.
- Sustainable Farming
- Steward's crowdfunding platform specifically targets sustainable farms, providing a new avenue for funding and growth in the sustainable farming industry.
- Financial Technology
- The rise of online crowdfunding platforms like Steward demonstrates the potential for disruptive innovation in the financial technology industry, specifically in the realm of agricultural investments.
