Videos

Things looking a bit different?

Nope, you're not on the wrong site – we're updating our look and content! Keep your eyes peeled for more changes!

You can also view the videos on our Vimeo channel at Food Farms Fish and Finance Forum 2013 Channel. More videos will be posted shortly.

Capital, Control, Success and Stewardship in our Food System

Tasha Sutcliffe, Vice President/Program Director, Fisheries and Marine, EcoTrust – Capital and Control in Fisheries

Melanie Sommerville, PhD Student, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia – Finance, farmland and investing in Canada. Summary: Rising financial investment in Canada’s agri-food sector in the last decade has important implications for sector participants. Sustainable food systems need a more sustainable model of finance.

Ralph Martin, Loblaw Chair in Sustainable Food Systems, University of Guelph – Linking Soil Quality to Economic Incentives. Summary: A consideration of how soil organic matter (SOM) can be maintained or improved by linking periodic measurements to economic incentives for farmers. Similarly, the reduction of synthetic nitrogen use could be linked to economic incentives.

Kathleen Gibson, Principal, GBH Consulting Group Ltd. – Local meat processing: what works, what doesn’t and why. Summary: Lessons learned from a decade of working with provincially licensed meat processing facilities in British Columbia.

Partnering with Private and Institutional Investors

Moderator – Beth Hunter, Senior Program Officer, J.W. McConnell Foundation. Presentation summary: A brief review of social finance and impact investing and its use by foundations including the McConnell Foundation.

Gray Harris, Director, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, Coastal Enterprises Inc. – Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems at CEI. Summary: A review of CEI programs, including its goals, impact and examples.

Phoebe Higgins, Director, California Fisheries Fund, Environmental Defense Fund – California Fisheries Fund. Summary: A review of the CFF investment strategy and consideration of new opportunities.

Paul Lecomte, General Director, FIRA Fund. Summary: A review of the Alternative Quebec Agricultural Youth Fund providing business start-up, alternative financial solutions and venture capital.

Michael Curry, Managing Partner, Investeco Capital – Investing in Canadian sustainable agriculture companies. Summary: A review of Investeco’s Sustainable Food Fund, including its partners, strategy, benefits, examples and trends.

Community Finance Initiatives for Food and Farms

Moderator: Karine Jaouich, Director of Finance and Operations, Centre for Social Innovation

Linda Best, Secretary, Farmworks Investment Co-operative Ltd. – Farmworks: Investing in sustainable food for Nova Scotians. Summary: The context and review of Nova Scotia’s Community Economic Development Investment Funds (CEDIFs). An example of the Farmworks CEDIF is given and its transferability to other communities.

Ruth Klahsen, Owner/Lead Cheesemaker, Monforte Dairy. Summary: A discussion of Monforte Dairy, including its campaign for customers to buy futures in Klahsen’s cheese to help finance the dairy. (No powerpoint presentation).

David Miller, Co-Founder/CEO, Iroquois Valley Farms – Sustainable farmland investing for the next generation of farmers. Summary: A review of Iroquois Valley Farms, the first U.S. private company to connect investors with organic farmland and family farmers.

Tom Manley, Owner, Homestead Organics – Growing an under-capitalized business with community support. Summary: A discussion of the growth and expansion program of Homestead Organics, an organic grain processor and farm supply business that has drawn on a variety of financing tools.

Lessons from other Social Finance Sectors (Discussion format – no individual presentations)

Moderator – Joanna Reynolds, Manager, Education and Engagement, MaRS Centre for Impact Investing
Michael Shuman, Co-Founder/Research Director, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
François Vermette, Development Coordinator, Chantier de l’économie sociale
Adam Spence, Manager, Special Projects, MaRS Centre for Impact Investing & Social Venture Exchange
Karine Jaouich, Director of Operations, Centre for Social Innovation

The Fishbowl: A focus on farms and fish initiatives

Jordan Nikoloyuk, Sustainable Fisheries Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre – Financing Community Access to Atlantic Fisheries. Summary: A discussion of fisheries in Atlantic Canada, including problems, solutions like license banks and loan funds, and fisheries initiatives of the Ecology Action Centre.

Christie Young, Executive Director, Farmstart – Farmland Financing. Summary: The challenges of farmland transfer and discussion of Farmstart’s farm community revitalization efforts and necessary enabling tools. The presentation includes a feasibility assessment of two models for farmland financing: community financed farms and a Farmland Futures Equity Fund.

Michael Shuman keynote lecture:
Local Dollars, Local Sense: 12 Cutting-Edge Tools to Finance the Local Food Revolution