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Future of Agriculture 103: Agriculture and Conservation with Michael Doane of The Nature Conservancy
Michael Doane is the Managing Director of the Agriculture and Food Systems at The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit organization and the world’s leader in providing nature conservation efforts. Their mission is to conserve Mother Nature for future generations by buying lands to prevent plant and animal extinction and restoring otherwise ruined parts of nature back to its former glory. Michael’s responsible for ensuring industries that rely heavily on nature are managed and controlled. He primarily concentrates on projects involving soil health, sustainable forestry and ranching, and nutrient loss reductions.
Today, Michael Doane shares his company’s advocacies and their many projects. He discusses the company’s history and what made them become the leading conservation organization. He also explains some of their company’s many successful projects as well as their prospects, and how they prioritize which ones to fund first.
“As food demand grows, there will be some expansion. But, we also think it can be done in a way that does the least amount of harm to nature.” - Michael Doane
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- What the Nature Conservancy is all about.
- What led the Nature Conservancy to agriculture?
- The projects the company is working on.
- How they work with their investors and partners.
- Why they prefer to partner with the private industry.
- How they decide which strategic priorities to pursue.
- What it means to manage optimal soil health.
- How they build trust with their investors.
- What is the Techstars Sustainability Accelerator all about?
Michael Doane’s Words of Wisdom:
- There are special places and special species and plants that need protection.
- Management practice change can really address a lot of the current environmental problems.
- There's some very cost-effective emission reduction opportunities sitting right here in agriculture.
- Investing in nature is a good investment.
Resources Mentioned:
- Nature’s Own Hedge Fund, article by Bloomberg
Connect with Michael Doane:
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