Extraction is a Dead End

Finance and soil have more in common than we think.

On Sunday, I attended a small, fascinating conversation during hashtag#ClimateWeek on how to redirect financial flows into regenerative agriculture—and the many challenges of doing so.

The panel was organized by Kat Taylor, Chair of the Board of Directors for TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation and Beneficial State Bank; and it featured Zachary Ducheneaux, former USDA Farm Service Agency administrator; Philip Taylor, Ph.D., founder of Mad Agriculture; and Charley Cummings, CEO for Walden Mutual Bank; and it was wonderfully moderated by Jose Corona, Chief Agricultural Business Officer for the Agricultural Platform Collective and the Office of Kat Taylor.

It became clear to me over the course of the morning that traditional finance is extractive. Just like conventional agriculture.

Loans are structured to penalize, not support. Miss a payment? You’re out. Ask for forbearance from a traditional lender, over the slow months when revenues inevitably decline? Nope. Have your interest rate lowered when you show success over time, so you can continue to grow? Not likely. The structure doesn’t set recipients up to thrive.

Industrial agriculture too often does the same. It mines the soil for nutrients instead of farming in a way that replenishes and regenerates. It depletes rather than provides.

How do we pick up the pace in building regenerative systems, both financial and agricultural?

And maybe we don’t have to dispense with capitalism entirely, but we can reimagine it. Early entrants in this space are designing financial tools to mimic regenerative food systems—supportive, relational, and adaptive. We can redirect capital flows so that all the stakeholders in our food and agriculture systems share both the risks and rewards.