What the Field?! A podcast by CrowdFarming

What if the future of farming was not only better for biodiversity and soil health, but also a smarter long-term investment?
 In this episode of What The Field?!, we sit down with Alessia Lenders, Head of Impact at SLM Partners, a pioneering investment firm proving that ecological farming and solid financial performance can go hand in hand.
Alessia’s journey into regenerative agriculture did not begin in the fields but in the world of traditional finance. Searching for investment solutions that could genuinely improve biodiversity, she found herself returning again and again to agriculture: one of the biggest drivers of environmental degradation, but also one of the greatest opportunities for change.
Today, SLM Partners manages more than 760 million dollars in farmland and forestland across the United States, Australia and Europe. Their approach is simple yet radical: invest in land, partner with skilled farmers, and scale regenerative systems that rebuild soil, protect water and secure long-term productivity.

What you will discover in this episode

1. The economic logic behind regenerative agriculture

Alessia explains why long-term, patient capital fits naturally with regenerative transitions: healthier soils, more diverse revenue streams (including carbon projects in Australia) and more climate-resilient farms. Far from being a financial compromise, regenerative systems can improve profitability by reducing input costs, stabilising yields and tapping into premium and organic markets.

2. Why investors are turning to farmland

Farmland behaves differently from stocks and bonds, which makes it an attractive diversifier for institutional investors. SLM adds another layer: regenerative farms that can outperform conventional systems over the long term while delivering measurable environmental impact.

3. The crucial role of the farmer

SLM’s model is farmer first. They partner with experienced growers who want to expand but lack the capital to acquire land. SLM buys the land, the farmer manages it and both commit to a regenerative transition adapted to local realities. The result is a partnership that supports young farmers, protects landscapes and proves that ecological agriculture can scale.

4. A clearer picture through data

From soil microbiology to water modelling, biodiversity indicators and carbon estimates, SLM collects an extraordinary amount of data to understand and communicate how landscapes change over time. This allows them to build business models that anticipate droughts, evaluate water security and verify real ecological outcomes.

5. Regenerative agriculture is not one size fits all

Whether transitioning almond orchards in Spain, grasslands in Australia or mixed farms in the United States, SLM adapts regenerative principles to each context. For some farms, the target is organic certification. For others, it is a regenerative outcome-based approach focused on soil health, biodiversity and long-term resilience.
This episode goes deeper than we ever have into the financial mechanics behind regenerative agriculture. It is a rare look at how capital, ecology and farming come together to build food systems that work for both people and the planet.
If you have ever wondered whether regenerative agriculture really adds up financially, ecologically or both, this is the conversation you will not want to miss.

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This episode of What The Field?! looks at a simple question with complex answers: how do farm practices shape the nutritional quality of food? Our guest is Raiza Rezende, co-founder of RHEA — Regenerative Healthcare European Association. RHEA works on three fronts—education, research, and policy—to connect agriculture and healthcare, and is currently running nutrient-density trials in olives and almonds with European universities and farm partners
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Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

In this episode of What the Field?!, we sit down with Sabine Bonnot, President of Planet-score, to discuss how their food labelling system is helping consumers better understand the environmental impact of what they buy — and why some types of information matter more than others.
Drawing on research conducted in supermarkets across Europe, Sabine explains why shoppers distrust simplified, aggregated scores, and how transparency on issues like pesticide use, biodiversity, animal welfare, and production methods can guide them towards more sustainable choices.
Sabine shares insights on:
Why climate impact often ranks lower for consumers choosing food products

How detailed labels can shift purchasing decisions towards nature-positive farming

The role of clear communication in building trust between farmers and eaters
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Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

In this episode, we sit down with Reniera O’Donnell, Food Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to talk about the power of food design — and what it means to truly rethink the system from the ground up.
We dive into the Foundation’s Big Food Redesign Challenge, an initiative inviting food companies to radically redesign their products using circular economy principles. What happens when you apply circular design for food not just on farms, but in food innovation labs, ingredient sourcing, and supermarket shelves?
 Reniera shares insights on:
How better food design can drive biodiversity and soil health

Why diversity in ingredients is key to reshaping our supply chain

What it takes to bring products to market that are designed for nature to thrive
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Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Birdsong is disappearing from our landscapes—but why? In the latest episode of What the Field, we sit down with Ariel Brunner, Regional Director of BirdLife International, to talk about why the dramatic decline in bird populations across Europe is not just a tragedy for nature lovers, but a warning sign for the future of our food systems.
Drawing from decades of experience in conservation, Ariel explains how industrial agriculture has devastated biodiversity—especially among farmland birds—and how rethinking the way we farm, consume, and organise politically could turn things around. From the disappearance of house martins in southern Spain to the global expansion of monocultures, we unpack how our current food production model is ecologically unsustainable.
But this isn’t just another story of environmental collapse. Ariel also shares tangible examples of hope: collaborative projects like “Olivares Vivos” that restore biodiversity in olive groves, and ways city dwellers can make space for birds even without a garden.
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