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Investing in agriculture in the Midwest

The managing director of Chicago-based S2G Ventures says consumer trends have a major impact on investments in food and agriculture.

Aaron Rudberg says originally seen as fads, the demand for fresh foods, transparency, clean labels, and natural options are not going away.

“We need to continue to innovate the supply chain and innovate closer to the farm gate to help meet that demand,” he says. “So we are excited about all the entrepreneurs that are starting companies.”

He tells Brownfield ag innovation is not new to the Midwest and more venture firms are recognizing what Midwest agriculture has to offer.

“To us, there is something about the grit and humility of a Midwesterner,” he says. “It’s just part of the fabric of the middle of the country that we enjoy as investors and so we try to take advantage of that by putting a lot of capital here behind entrepreneurs in the Midwest.”

Rudberg talked to Brownfield at the 2018 Agbioscience Innovation Summit.

Audio: Aaron Rudberg, S2G Ventures