What Open Prairie does

Open Prairie is a private equity fund management firm founded in 1997 and headquartered in Effingham, Illinois, focused on growth-stage agribusiness and rural American companies. The firm manages multiple investment vehicles including the $81 million Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund (USDA-licensed as a Rural Business Investment Company), Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund II, the $40 million 1999-vintage Open Prairie Ventures I (SBIC-licensed, fully realized with two IPOs), the $30 million Open Prairie Ventures II, and a Special Purpose Fund holding interests in CommoditAg, ConsortiEx, and Sight Supply. Across these vehicles the firm manages approximately $150M+ of capital, sourced from 12 Farm Credit institutions, 14 commercial and community banks, family offices, and high net worth individuals. Open Prairie deploys $2-10 million per company in debt and equity, sourcing deals through Farm Credit and commercial bank referrals, board networks, and accelerator participation in programs such as Foodbytes, MIT Food Prize, Terra, and FoodShotGlobal.

The firm does not develop proprietary technology itself; rather, it invests in portfolio companies building innovations across agricultural technology, life sciences, bioplastics, IoT connectivity, plant-based ingredients, organic food production, animal traceability, and online food marketplaces. Named portfolio investments include Tillerman Seeds, MyAgData, Green Dot Bioplastics, Agrivida, Nutriati, Shenandoah Valley Organic, RealmFive, FreshFry, HerdDogg, Northern Feed and Bean, Comet Bio, Vytelle, SWARM Engineering, and Market Wagon. Performance history includes two IPOs from Ventures I (InfoBlox, TomoTherapy), an iCyt exit to Sony, and the Rural Opportunities Fund's first realized exit via Legacy Seed Companies in 2021.

Open Prairie generates revenue through management fees and carried interest on its managed funds, plus transaction and advisory fees on portfolio investments and exits. The team of approximately 10-15 professionals is led by Founder and Managing Partner J.M. "Jim" Schultz, a fifth-generation agriculture investor, alongside President Patrick Morand, CFO Dennis Beard, Vice President Jason Wrone, and partners with senior prior roles at Rabobank, PepsiCo, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Farm Credit Administration, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Name

Open Prairie

Legal name

Open Prairie

Website

https://openprairie.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Prairie is an Effingham, Illinois private equity fund manager deploying $2-10 million debt and equity investments into growth-stage agribusiness and rural American companies through USDA-licensed Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity Fund Management

NAICS

Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funds (FSANAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN), Development Finance, Guarantees & Blended Finance Programs (BPADABAM)

Keywords

• Private equity funds
• Agribusiness investments
• Rural business financing
• Venture capital management
• Growth-stage agribusiness

Headquarters

HQ city

Effingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Private Equity Fund Management: Open Prairie generates revenue through management fees and carried interest (performance fees) on the funds it manages, including the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund ($81 million, USDA RBIC licensed), Open Prairie Ventures I ($40 million, 1999 vintage, realized 2 IPOs and multiple acquisitions), Open Prairie Ventures II ($30 million), and Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund II. The firm also earns transaction and advisory fees from portfolio company investments and exits.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Open Prairie is a private equity fund management firm founded in 1997 in Effingham, Illinois, that raises and manages investment vehicles focused on agribusiness and rural America. The firm manages multiple funds including the USDA Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC)-licensed Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund, the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund II, Open Prairie Ventures I and II, and a Special Purpose Fund, channeling institutional capital into growth-stage agricultural and rural businesses.

Product overview

Open Prairie is a multi-faceted private equity fund management firm, not a technology product company. As such, it does not offer traditional software products or services in the sense of a technology platform. Open Prairie manages multiple investment funds focused on agriculture and rural America, including: Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund II (a USDA-licensed Rural Business Investment Company), Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund, Open Prairie Ventures II, Open Prairie Ventures I, and the Special Purpose Fund. The Special Purpose Fund portfolio includes holdings in CommoditAg (an online platform for purchasing agricultural products), ConsortiEx (healthcare IT systems), and Sight Supply (online contact lens retailer). The company's core offering is investment management and capital provision to growth-stage companies in food, agriculture, and related sectors, rather than technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund
• Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund II
• Open Prairie Ventures I
• Open Prairie Ventures II
• Special Purpose Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivered top quartile performance for Open Prairie Ventures I (1999 vintage fund class) with 2 IPOs (InfoBlox, TomoTherapy) and multiple successful acquisitions.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• S2G Investments: Chicago-based growth equity fund focused on food, agriculture, and ocean. Directly comparable as a specialized ag/food PE firm that co-invests alongside Open Prairie in deals such as SWARM Engineering and Shenandoah Valley Organic, targeting the same growth-stage agribusiness and food-tech companies.
• Fulcrum Global Capital: Kansas-based agtech venture capital firm. Directly comparable as a co-investor with Open Prairie in multiple deals (Vytelle, Green Dot Bioplastics), targeting growth-stage agriculture and food technology companies with a similar fund size and check range.
• Innova Memphis: AgTech-focused venture firm based in Memphis, Tennessee, investing in early- and growth-stage agriculture and food companies. Comparable as a regional agtech investor with similar fund deployment strategy and rural/mid-America focus.
• Serra Ventures: Champaign, Illinois-based early-stage venture capital firm with a strong agtech and life sciences focus. Comparable as a Midwest-based fund manager with portfolio overlap (Vytelle co-investor) and general partner overlap (Dennis Beard serves as GP with Serra Ventures).
• Middleland Capital (VTC Innovation Fund): Midleland Capital's VTC Innovation Fund invests in food and agriculture technology. Comparable as a co-investor with Open Prairie in Shenandoah Valley Organic and as a similarly positioned growth-stage agtech/food fund manager.
• AgFunder: Venture capital platform specializing in agrifood technology investments globally. Comparable as a specialized agtech fund manager with a similar thematic focus on food and agriculture innovation, though typically with larger fund vehicles.

Emerging players

• AgRogue Growth Partners: Ag-focused growth equity firm that co-led SWARM Engineering's Series A with S2G. Comparable as a co-investor in Open Prairie's portfolio and as a similarly positioned niche agriculture growth investor.
• Gener8tor: Midwest-based accelerator and early-stage investment platform with an agtech focus. Comparable as a regional capital provider for ag startups, though at a much earlier stage than Open Prairie's growth-stage focus.

Broad incumbents

• Rabobank Food & Agri Innovation Fund: Rabobank's food and ag investment arm, led by former Open Prairie partner Rajiv Singh (former CEO of Rabobank North America Wholesale Banking). Comparable as a major ag-focused investment platform, but with much larger scale, global reach, and balance sheet.

Others

• Square 1 Bank (now part of Pacific Western Bank): Former employer of Open Prairie Partner Ryan Dammeyer, who led Midwest structured finance. Adjacent comparable as a debt and structured capital provider to growth-stage companies in similar sectors, though not a direct PE competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-prairie-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments36 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Prairie