Healthier Starts From the Ground UP
Healthy soil yields more abundant and nutritious food, and along with water and sunlight, is integral to life on this planet. However, decades of legacy practices on farmland, reliance on a few core crops, overuse of synthetic inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc., and a general lack of insightful data on the actual condition and composition of the soil, has caused significant and widespread degradation in soil health.
The Nature Conservancy estimates* the annual societal and environmental costs of the status quo are up to $85.1 billion annually through unintended effects on human health, property, energy, endangered species, loss of biodiversity, eutrophication, contamination, agricultural productivity, and resilience.
iSelect actively seeks and invests in companies that address many of the abovementioned issues. It is one of our core theses, and we are proud to have created an investment platform that enables us to pursue traditional venture returns while seeking to improve the health of our soil and planet.
*The Nature Conservancy
Portfolio Companies Contributing to Soil Health
Soil Health and Technology Platform Companies
Agrible, Inc.
Agrible sells software that connects the agricultural supply chain from field-to-market, providing critical sustainability,agronomic, and yield data. Learn more…
Artemis, Inc.
Artemis is a software company making indoor farming profitable, efficient and traceable, enabling growers to drive the indoor farming revolution. Learn more…
EarthOptics
EarthOptics is building the technologies and data products that will allow for the accurate measurement and modeling of key soil attributes, enabling land managers to improve soil health and unlock the value of healthy soils. Learn more…
Growers Edge Financial, Inc
Growers Edge offers warranty and lending products and services in the agtech marketplace. Their warranties help farmers by guaranteeing yield with the adoption of new technologies. Learn more…
Harpe Bioherbicide
Harpe is focused on providing natural and sustainable solutions to expand and provide new opportunities for organic agriculture while reducing, replacing, and synergizing with synthetic chemical use in row & specialty crops and commercial & consumer markets. Learn more…
Holganix, LLC
Holganix produces organic plant probiotics that make soils and plants healthier, more resilient, and more productive. Learn more…
Kula Bio, Inc.
Kula Bio is an agriculture biotechnology company that aims to extend the life of microbes to unlock their biological potential and maximize their impact. Learn more…
Kultevat, Inc.
Kultevat combines genetic breeding and chemical process engineering to produce natural rubber from the Russian dandelion in North America. Learn more…
PatternAg
PatternAg’s crop protection product delivers actionable intelligence to farmers, based on high resolution mapping of the DNA found in a farmer’s soil. With nearly 100 billion organisms per soil core, Pattern’s metagenomic DNA sequencing technology maps the unique microbial community found in a farmer’s field, identifying key opportunities to increase yield and save money. Armed with Pattern’s insights into next season’s risks, especially from the most costly pathogens like Corn Rootworm and Soybean Cyst Nematode, farmers can apply recommended protective measures to maximize their yield or save money on inputs when those risks are absent. Learn more…
Plant Response, Inc.
PlantResponse Biotech is a Raleigh, NC based company that is developing and commercializing biologically related products that improve plant health and protect yield potential. Learn more…
Plastomics, Inc.
Plastomics has developed a proprietary genetic engineering model that can produce high performing crops through editing the chloroplast. Learn more…
Stony Creek Colors
Stony Creek Color’s bio-based dyes are made without toxic chemicals and provide traceable and sustainable products to the garment industry. Learn more…
Vence Corp.
Vence’s digital platform reduces the cost and increases the environmental sustainability of pastured livestock production, starting by giving farmers more control over the movement of their animals with virtual fencing. Learn more…
Vestaron, Inc.
Vestaron is developing new products in the crop protection industry that address the growing concerns of resistance, high costs of R&D, and safety/environmental externalities. Learn more…
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