You have to start somewhere. When Jayce Hafner and Sami Tellatin became classmates at the same business school, they decided to start giving grants to help U.S. farms run more efficiently.
Hafner knows how difficult it is to apply for grants to improve the sustainable farming practices of her family's farm. Tellatin studied biological engineering and spent three years with the USDA researching the impacts of cover crops on farm economics. She knew that farmers would make better decisions if grants were more available.
FarmRaise, a now 12-person, two-year-old, San Diego, Ca.-based company that has made considerable progress since the two joined forces with another cofounder, Albert Abedi, who they met through the accelerator program of Pear VC, the Palo Alto-based firm,
According to Hafner, the company already has nearly 10,000 farms on the platform thanks to word of mouth, a dash of search-engine magic, and partnerships with agriculture giants that have carbon emission reduction goals.
FarmRaise is able to quickly apply for a wide variety of grant programs on its customers' behalf because of its platform, which asks for granular farm insights, andTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkia The team just landed $7.2 million in seed funding, which was led by Susa Ventures, and was joined by other companies.
Hafner says grants are just the beginning of the financial services company that FarmRaise intends to become. Hafner suggests that once a farm gives much of its data to the company, FarmRaise can help it secure loans, secure equipment at bulk prices, lower its operating expenses, and help with both the farm's banking and tax planning.
She says that many of the services will be provided through third parties. FarmRaise is not looking to change the wheel. There is no reason for farmers to not have a full-stack resource to which to turn.
She says grants are our wedge. They are not the end of the story.
In the meantime, FarmRaise is focused on hiring more employees, lining up more grants, and making sure its customers are happy with the services it is already providing and for which it charges a monthly subscription along with 10% of the value of the grants it secures.
It will take some time to understand FarmRaise's success rate, given that some grants have wait times of six to 12 months. Hafner says that it is a big opportunity because USDA funding has been growing like crazy.
She points out that the Trump administration gave tens of billions of dollars to support farmers who were affected by Covid disruptions.
She says that the Biden administration feels encouraged and that it is likely to double in the years to come. She thinks it makes sense. It can help to address climate change by increasing farm profitability and sequestering carbon. There are many benefits that come with it.
Jayce Hafner is the CEO of FarmRaise, Albert Abedi is the head of product, and Sami Tellatin is the COO.
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