dripfund

1. DripFund
12/6/2012

2. Our
Goal
• Solve
Global
Water
Scarcity
&
Food
Security
– Validate
model
in
California,
Texas,
and
Kansas
– Re-­‐apply
model
globally

6. Problem
Lake
Mead
(2010
Drought)

7. Freshwater
use
in
California
Source:
California
Department
of
Water
Resources
California
Water
Plan.
hSp://www.californiawater.org/docs/CIT_AWU_Report_v2.pdf
33.2
Million
Acre
Feet
(10.8
Trillion
gallons)

8. 3.1
Million
Acre
Feet
(1
Trillion
gallons)

9. Imperial
Valley:
500,000
Irrigated
Acres

10. Flood
Irriga[on
(6
AF/Acre)
Sub-­‐Surface
Drip
Irriga[on
(4
AF/Acre)
SDI
reduces
water
consump[on
by
30%
and
increases
yields
by
20-­‐25%
due
to
reduced
water
logging
Technology
Solu[on:
Convert
to
SDI

11. Conver[ng
50%
of
Gravity
(flood)
irrigated
field
crop
acreage
to
drip
solves
CA
water
issues

12. Problems
with
adop[on
• Heavy
resistance
to
adopt
new
irriga[on
technology
– 17
years
to
adopt
center
pivot
in
Nebraska
(even
with
a
<
3
year
payback)
– Educa[on
problem:
Owners
with
5,000+
acre
farms
and
low
water
costs
don’t
know
that
drip’s
core
return
is
driven
by
increased
yields
and
product
quality
– Financing
problem:
Some
farmers
find
it
difficult
to
get
financing
on
drip
irriga[on
equipment

13. DripFund
Solu[on
• New
model
for
customer
acquisi[on
– “Acquire”
the
customer
through
a
sales-­‐leaseback
model
• Gives
farmer
liquidity
without
taking
away
their
job
– Install
drip
irriga[on
system
and
educate
grower
how
to
properly
use
and
maintain
the
system
– Re-­‐sell
property
at
higher
valua[on
in
2-­‐3
years
aler
higher
yield
has
been
established
for
the
farm

14. Farmland
Values
Are
Driven
By
Cash
Rent

15. Land
Rents
Are
Driven
By
Produc[on
Poten[al

16. Increasing
Alfalfa
Yield
By
25%
Increases
Net
Income
by
90%

17. Result
• Flood
irrigated
land
in
Imperial
Valley
is
undervalued
by
$3,000-­‐
$5,000/acre
– 400,000
Acres
of
flood
Irrigated
field
crops
are
undervalued
by
$1.2-­‐$2B
• Fund
can
sit
on
improved
land
at
a
7-­‐9%
cap
rate
for
2-­‐3
years
to
demonstrate
yield
increase