A list of resources highlighting some of the many opportunities available for funding your food and farm business through the USDA.

Last week Monday, FS6 held our Cohort 5 culminating event as part of the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum. For those of you who weren't able to join us, you can find a link to the event synopsis and recording below! 

During the 2-hr event, FS6 was proud to showcase the incredible work of our six Cohort 5 companies - featuring a short storytelling video from each, followed by a pitch, and audience Q&A. 

In other FS6 news, our fearless leader and CEO, Caesaré Assad, was officially selected as one of the top 20 Emerging Leaders in Food & Ag! We are incredibly proud of her and all of the work she has done over the years to make this world a more just, healthy, and sustainable one for all.

2020, despite all the hardship, has had its moments of brightness.

This episode of Dig-In is focused on learning more about the 5th Cohort of FS6 entrepreneurs - and diving into some of the issues that they are addressing through their innovations.

About the cohort: 
Cohort 5 is largely focused on supporting the farmers, ranchers, producers, and do-ers that are the foundation of any sustainable food system. As part of this year's program, we are thinking more and more about the infrastructure necessary to implement and bolster sustainable solutions, and how to better take care of the employees that are on the ground running these businesses day-to-day. Read on to learn more.

Nina Meijers of Rabobank’s FoodBytes! and Claire Schlemme of Renewal Mill are joining us to talk about building 21st century food businesses. We’re talking to Nina and Claire side by side to understand how FoodBytes supports innovation and the opportunity for entrepreneurs. It’s a conversation on the diversity of ideas, technology, and products that characterize future food enterprises, the collaborations that enable innovation, and how the Covid crisis is accelerating the pace of change. 

Amidst the challenges of Covid-19, FS6 is excited to welcome the expertise of three Entrepreneurs-in-Residence to the team- as well as celebrate FS6 CEO, Caesaré Assad, for being recognized for her passion and leadership in the world of food and agriculture.

The landscape of food system accelerators and incubators keeps expanding — for Food System 6 this is not competition, it’s more opportunity to drive change. Caesaré Asssad is talking about what the next version of our food system, the 6th food system, will look like and how entrepreneurs are powering us forward. 

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing a variety of challenges emerge for the farmers, ranchers, processors, and producers that are working across US agriculture to keep our country fed. As “shelter-in-place” mandates stir up consumer worries and instigate stockpiling across the country, small-mid sized farmers and ranchers are coming face-to-face with a variety of challenges across inventory, infrastructure, and cash flow. Overall, there is a lot of pressure on the supply chain at this time - and more on the horizon. It is our goal at FS6 to aggregate information and to identify the gaps in support; we need to work together to realign resources in support of those that are working to feed the American population and to help those that are focused on raising food locally, sustainably, and humanely to weather the challenging times ahead.