Clif Bar Launches Ag Fund to Bolster Economic Resilience of Organic Farmers

The demand for organic foods continues to increase at astounding rates. While U.S. sales of organic food and beverages totaled less than $4 billion in 1997, that number is anticipated to hit more than $100 billion by 2025. Yet, supply and demand are not matching up. Even with 5 million certified organic acres of farmland in 2016, this number still represents less than 1 percent of total farmland nationwide. Over the years, we’ve seen many companies take creative approaches to help increase organic farmland in the U.S, from Kashi’s “Certified Transitional” label to brands actually purchasing their own organic farms. Now, a new fund has been created to increase assistance to farmers pursuing organic options.

This week, Clif Bar made it a little easier to be an organic farmer with the launch of the Clif Ag Fund. Its goal is to increase the economic resilience of organic farmers and reduce their reliance on non-renewable sources of energy. The fund will include an initial investment of $10 million ($500,000 from Clif Bar and the remaining $9.5 million from partner investors) “that could provide up to 80 organic farms with long-term energy cost savings from hosting on-farm wind turbines,” according to Sustainable Brands.

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