Kempen’s SDG Farmland Fund could double in next three years; Artesian and Hort Innovation launch A$60m horticulture fund

Field of crops

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the regulator that oversees Australia’s superannuation system, has highlighted “particular weaknesses” around how funds value unlisted assets, calling its findings “concerning”.

APRA made the assertion in the findings of its long-awaited review into the progress of superannuation fund trustees in implementing enhanced valuation governance and liquidity risk management requirements that were put in place in January 2023.

Under the review, APRA examined 23 trustees, representing around 80 percent of the total assets managed by APRA-regulated superannuation entities. APRA declined to identify the trustees or the funds that were covered, only saying that the trustees covered a range of different sizes and business models.

The review found that, while the capabilities of trustees have improved since APRA last reviewed unlisted assets in 2021, 12 of the 23 trustees covered displayed “material gaps in key areas”, related to either valuation governance processes or liquidity risk management frameworks, or both of those.

The review comes amid increased scrutiny generally, including by corporate regulator ASIC, of unlisted assets. Watch this space for more in 2025.

Sound Agriculture, a California-based firm that creates products to improve soil health, completed a $25 million Series D round co-led by BMO Impact Investment Fund and S2G Ventures.

Yeastup, a start-up that upcycles spent brewers’ yeast into new ingredients and products, raised SFr8.9 million ($9.9 million; €9.6 million) in a Series A round.

Freya Cultivations, a start-up building plant-growing systems for use in commercial greenhouses, raised €500,000 in a seed funding round backed by Coinvest Capital and BSV Ventures, among others.

LAM’ON, a Bulgarian firm developing sustainable alternatives to plastic packing for industries including fresh produce, secured €500,000 in seed funding from investors including Eleven Ventures and Citibank managing director Grigoriy Ananiev.

Bpacks, a British packaging technology start-up, raised €1 million in a pre-seed round. Backers were not disclosed.

Cerve, a Swedish food supply chain start-up, raised a £3.5 million ($4.3 million; €3.5 million) seed funding round led by SuperSeed, with participation from Zenith Ventures, Ponderosa Ventures and The First Thirty.

Celleste Bio, an Israeli start-up focused on innovative cocoa production methods, raised a $4.5 million seed round led by Supply Change Capital, which was also backed by Mondelez International’s SnackFutures Ventures, Consensus Business Group, The Trendlines Group, Barrel Ventures, and Regba Agriculture.

Also in the news…

Avance Investment Management and AUA Private Equity invest in Tropical Cheese

The Hispanic-led PE firms acquired a majority stake in in Hispanic food brand Tropical Cheese (PR Newswire).

Blackstone said to emerge as top bidder for Haldiram Snacks

A consortium that includes GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority could pay $1.6 billion for 20 percent of Haldiram (Bloomberg).

Furlani Foods to acquire Cole’s Quality Foods

The combination brings together two leading brands in the garlic bread category in North America (BusinessWire).

California declares state of emergency over bird flu in cattle

Officials have discovered the virus in 645 dairy herds, more than in any other state so far (New York Times).

Why India’s ‘chilli grenade’ ghost pepper is losing its fire

The fading pungency of the bhut jolokia, one of the world’s hottest chillies, has concern after farmers struggled to keep up with global demand (The Times).

Farming has always been gambling with dirt – but the odds are getting longer

Gabrielle Chan writes about the uncertainty of farming in Australia (The Guardian).

Sorry, but this is the future of food

An essay on ‘industrial agriculture’ and the role it will play in future food production (New York Times).

Dramatic drop in forecast Australian wool output sparks restructure call

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecast that in 2024/25 the country will produce 279.4 million kilograms of wool, the lowest figure since 1903 (Sheep Central).


This is the final edition of Field Notes for 2024. Thank you for reading this year – we look forward to seeing you in January for our next edition.