SLM Partners Spring Update - Our impact report is out!
As we launch our annual impact report, we wanted to take this opportunity to share what the team at SLM Partners has been doing so far this year.
Spring Update
Globally, we are pleased to report that we now manage $755 million in assets across funds and separate accounts in the US, Australia and Europe.
In the US, our assets under management have grown to over $530 million, allowing us to invest in organic farms across California, the Midwest and Wyoming. The team deployed over $83 million in 2024 and have completed a number of additional acquisitions so far this year. We are investing in organic grains, tree nuts, citrus, olives, alfalfa and recently added niche (and tasty!) crops such as organic prunes and figs.
In Australia, we have deployed over $110 million on 5 large properties over the last 2 years and expanded our reach into new speciality crops, including macadamias and pecans. The team is now busy developing regenerative farming plans and establishing new carbon projects on the land.
In Europe, we continue our efforts to launch a new €200million European forestry fund. Building on the track record of our Irish forestry strategy, this new fund will aggregate small under-managed forest properties and scale up Continuous Cover Forestry in multiple European countries.
We also had the pleasure of hosting a visit to Portuguese orchards last month for the investors in SLM Silva Europe. This was an opportunity for them to meet the nut operators we have partnered with and to see how the trees and the soil are doing as we come out of a very wet winter (378mm of rain just in Q1).
Our 2024 Impact Report
This is our 5th firm-level impact report, covering our activities globally to present the results achieved towards our impact objectives. The report continues our effort to integrate disclosure recommendations from the Taskforce for Climate Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Taskforce for Nature Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
This year, our report spotlights the results achieved on Garrawin, a property in the SLM Australia Livestock Fund managed by SLM Partners for over 10 years. On this property, we have successfully combined cattle production with a carbon credit project to create a more resilient business that was able to withstand a 7-year drought. We were able to enhance ecological outcomes and diversifying revenue streams, helping to mitigate both climate and market volatility.
This case study also presents findings from Dr Judi Earl, a grassland ecologist who has tracked the evolution of the health of the land over the course of the investment period. “There is a noticeable difference between this property and its neighbours, it’s extraordinary… The improvements that have happened over the land in just 12 years, of which 7 years of drought, is phenomenal.” – Dr. Judi Earl.
Our secret sauce is the holistic management approach that Graham Finlayson, General Manager of SLM Australia, has been successfully implementing across the property. This system mimics the natural grazing patterns of large wild herbivores by keeping animals in large herbs, moving them frequently, and allowing long recovery periods between grazing events.
“We monitor the landscape closely. We want to make sure we don’t come back to graze that patch until it is fully recovered. We want to make sure we allow for the more nutritious species and the perennial grasses to grow back. The key is short grazing periods and long resting periods.” – Graham Finlayson.
To dive straight into this case study, skip to page 16 in the impact report.
You can download the report here.