Investor interest in agricultural startup Our Cow has seen the butcher subscription startup raise nearly $1.5 million from more than 750 investors in the first 24 hours of the Birchal crowdfunding campaign.

Farmer Bianca Tarrant and Dave McGiveron launched Our Cow in Northern NSW in 2019 after nearly losing their farm to drought and then the Black Summer bushfires.

Initially, they sold their beef directly to consumers via Facebook and launched their meat subscription service in April 2021.

Just two years later, it now turns over $22 million a year with more than 7,500 subscribers nationally, with a 79% customer retention rate.

Last April, the company raised $2.38 million toward a $3 million goal through crowd-sourced funding (CSF) campaign with VentureCrowd. It was the fourth largest CSF increase of 2022.

Now they’re back seeking an additional $2.62 million at $50 per share on a pre-money valuation of $62.67 million through Birchal. With hours of the campaign opening to EOI-registered investors on Tuesday, they had raised $700,000, surpassing the minimum goal and reaching double that by Wednesday afternoon.

With 15 days left to raise the last $1.1 million in capital, the campaign appears to be ending prematurely.

Bianca Tarrant, said the company was very happy with the support, especially from customers and fellow farmers.

“Our customers and fellow farmers have always been extremely loyal and enthusiastic about our product and service and it was really great to see this translate into support for the business,” she said.

“We would like to thank everyone who entered the round which will greatly assist us in our goal of becoming the biggest and best food delivery company in Australia.”

The company employs more than 50 people, has a processing plant in Casino, 50 miles west of Byron Bay, and partners with a network of 150 farms.

During the Christmas holidays, Our Cow acquired the Voly brand and database from the operators of the failed grocery delivery service for an undisclosed sum.

Our cow revived the brand last week by emailing Voly customers saying they plan to bring the Sydney-based brand to all capitals and also create “the ultimate online farmers’ market.”

Details on the Birchal campaign are here.