Why Attend
Why Attend?
It has been just over a year since we last were in the Bay Area, and a lot has happened in that time! 2010 showed great promise in the sector, with a successful Global Investments conference in New York City, and our first international event in Toronto. As more and more people become aware of how challenged our food system is, there is a sense of urgency to bring the Agriculture 2.0 conversation to new audiences and new markets. To that end, NewSeed Advisors has now partnered with IIR USA to expand the scope and breadth of the conference as we move forward.Ag 2.0 San Francisco will bring together hundreds of investors, entrepreneurs and industry experts for two full days of panel discussions, presentations, industry roundtables and networking to build the association of individuals who will work to catalyze and capitalize sustainable agriculture as an asset class.
What Agriculture 2.0 Delivers:
- An organized forum where entrepreneurs can meet a targeted group of investors who are in sync with the sustainable agriculture industry
- A business case for why sustainable agriculture is the fastest-growing niche within the broader agriculture industry
- Unrivaled networking with the "who's who" in agriculture investment
- Opportunities for collaboration among the creators of scalable sustainable food businesses
- Access to the forward-thinking companies that promise to impact the future of food production
- Intelligent conversations on "investment-ready" opportunities in sustainable agriculture for venture capital firms, private equity firms, corporations and end investors
- For the savvy institutional CIO or advisors to pensions and endowments and farmland fund managers: the new track, Farmland Investing and Agricultural Commodities will feature expert speakers from Adveq, TIAA-CREF, Ceres Partners, ConsiliAgra, Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners and many more. In a hostile media environment regarding land grabs and speculation, Ag 2.0 is the one event to focus on responsible farmland and commodity investments.
- For those interested in mid-market and growth stage private equity plays, Sustainable Investments in Agribusiness and Agrifood will spotlight seed technologies and traceability/supply chain management. There are over 190 private equity firms globally investing in agriculture. Sessions dedicated to emerging markets opportunities and the horizon for the next decade, along with targeted discussion on protein plays and waste repurposing will also be of interest.
- As the demand for animal proteins continues to rise over the next 25 years, the Aquaculture and Sustainable Seafood track will feature new technologies and opportunities to invest in every level of the seafood supply chain, from fish meal replacements to equipment to actual fish production enterprises.
- For venture capitalists making the move from cleantech to agtech, Venture Fair: Ag 2.0 Investment Opportunities will showcase opportunities ranging from identification solutions for livestock to water conservation technologies and crop yield prediction software to biopesticides and fuel additives made from agricultural waste.
Esteemed speakers include:
- Ejnar Knudsen, Portfolio Manager, Passport Capital
- Paul Matteucci, General Partner, US Venture Partners
- Charles Sweat, CEO, Earthbound Farms
- Berry Polmann, Vice President, Adveq
- Panda Hershey, Senior Director, Natural Resources, TIAA-CREF
- John Foraker, CEO, Annie's Homegrown
- Mike Dwyer, Director of Foreign Trade, Foreign Agriculture Service, USDA
- Spencer Maughan, Vice President, Venrock
- Ricardo Bayon, Founder & General Partner, EKO Asset Management
- Amol Deshpande, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
- Dexter Paine, Partner, Paine & Partners
- Dennis Donahue, Salinas Mayor, President, Royal Rose
- Alex Kinnier, Partner, Khosla Ventures
