Senior Risk Management Advisor

The Rarest Rare MetalWhen people think about rare & precious metals, they tend to think of the most common ones, like gold or platinum. Or maybe some of the more industrially useful rare metals, like tungsten , rhodium , gallium , even rhenium. (follow the links for dedicated investment reports on each of these metals).But there is an even rarer mineral in the platinum metal group, in fact one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust: iridium.This ultra-rare metal, much more common in meteorites, is currently used in small amounts in many high-tech applications like aeronautics, medical imaging, and LED screens. It can also be used to generate green hydrogen, although the large-scale deployment of this technology has been hindered by the high price of iridium.What Is Iridium?Iridium is a very rare metal, in the same family as platinum, which is only formed in the most violent cosmic events like supermassive supernovae or the merger of neutron stars. So its relative rarity on Earth is also a reflection of its overall rarity in the whole Universe.When purified, it appears as a silvery metal, although the ore and alloy can often display rainbow colors, from which it derived its name, inspired by Iris, the goddess of the rainbow in Rome.Iridium is the second-densest naturally occurring metal, after osmium. It is also extremely resistant to corrosion, even at temperatures as high as 2,000 °C (3,630 °F), and has a melting point of 2,446 °C (4,434 °F).This extreme density contributes to its rarity in the Earth's crust, as it sank into the planet's core during early planetary formation

Farmers Business Network (FBN) has launched a pilot, the Regenerative Agriculture Financing (RAF) Land Loan program, to reward farmers financially for implementing regenerative agriculture practices.Select farmers that employ water and soil health practices such as no-till and cover cropping, and that meet criteria outlined by the Gradable platform and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), will be able to access discount interest rates through the new program on newly financed land for seven years.The project comes out of research done by EDF showing that borrowers and farmers would be willing to adopt some regen ag practices and provide data in exchange for a reduction in land financing interest rates, Dan English, GM of FBN Financial, tells AgFunderNews.“Our mission at FBN is to help make farmers more profitable,” he adds. “As the sustainability landscape evolves, we want to help farmers make money off [regenerative agriculture] and not just have it be another requirement they need to comply with.”If the pilot proves successful, it will be the start of “a much bigger initiative to reward farmers for taking these practices,” he says.The Walton Family Foundation provided a $750,000 program-related-investment (PRI) loan and grant for the pilot.“They’re always looking for ways to support programs like this, and they have a particular mission to support areas within the Mississippi River watershed,” says English. “And so some of the conversations grew out of that. We told them what we were doing, explained some of our history [in the region] and what the potential benefits would be. And it turned out to be a great fit.”The Foundation’s capital will serve as the second lien on each loan.‘An extra dollar saved can go a long way’The RAF pilot will select around 20 farmers — based on a first-come-first-served basis, says English — to participate, and provide them with discounted interest rates ranging from 0.25% to 0.50% on newly financed land for seven years.“Particularly this year with the ag economy, the extra dollar saved can go a long way for folks,” he adds. “As we think about ways we can save farmers money this year, [RAF] is certainly one.”Selected participants will agree to implementing soil and water health practices including no-till or reduced till and cover cropping/winter cash crops; they must also satisfy annual environmental benchmarks and assessments.Participants must also demonstrate “responsible fertilizer use” as laid out in criteria developed by EDF