Partnership & Grantee Highlights
Ecdysis Foundation
Advancing regenerative agriculture
Ecdysis Foundation is an independent, non-profit scientific research enterprise based at Blue Dasher Farm in Estelline, South Dakota. They are a leader in advancing regenerative agriculture through cutting-edge research, outreach to the agricultural community and policy makers, and demonstration farms that provide producers with solutions to use on their own land. All of their research is conducted with, and for, farmers.
Regenerative agriculture offers a path forward for our food system where farms are biodiverse, water is clean, soil is healthy, and farmers thrive. Historically, a lack of data slowed its adoption. In 2022, Ecdysis Foundation launched the “1000 Farms Initiative.” By visiting over 1,000 farms, and collecting data on soil, insects, birds, and more, they’ve built the largest database of regenerative food systems in existence. At each farm, they have collected comprehensive data on soils, water, crops, invertebrates, birds, and economics (details can be found here).
The “1000 Farms Initiative” began as a project to document the state of our current food system, and it has now laid the groundwork for two subsequent projects at Ecdysis. First is “Project Ignite,” which will build on existing data, focusing on predicting the potential for regenerative food systems to mitigate risk to our health, environment, economy and national security. Second is “Project Avalanche” which is about enabling farmers to take science into their own hands, training them to measure progress on their own farms, and expanding the work of scientists at Ecdysis.
The “1000 Farms Initiative” began as a project to document the state of our current food system, and it has now laid the groundwork for two subsequent projects at Ecdysis. First is “Project Ignite,” which will build on existing data, focusing on predicting the potential for regenerative food systems to mitigate risk to our health, environment, economy and national security. Second is “Project Avalanche” which is about enabling farmers to take science into their own hands, training them to measure progress on their own farms, and expanding the work of scientists at Ecdysis.
In addition to a continually growing list of peer-reviewed scientific papers, the Ecdysis team shares their work through in-person events (field days, grower meetings, scientific conferences) and online through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube.
Alisha Utter, our Agricultural Stewardship Program Manager, visited Blue Dasher Farm in January. Check out this video where Jonathan Lundgren (Executive Director) and Christina Lind (Communications Specialist) show us around Blue Dasher Farm and explain the work of Ecdysis Foundation.
Additional resources to learn more about the work going on at Ecdysis:
Additional resources to learn more about the work going on at Ecdysis:
02.19.2026
02.19.2026
02.19.2026