To save our place on this planet, we must change our food system.
In 2022, the 1000 Farms Initiative was launched as one of the most ambitious agroecology experiments ever conducted.
The 1000 Farms Initiative is working to determine how we can transform our food system so that it benefits our farmers, our ecosystems, our communities, and our bodies.
Regenerative agricultural practices are instrumental in this transformation. It is critical they are implemented by individual farmers on a continental level.
Ecdysis is encouraging this adoption by gathering and communicating data at a continental scale,
a desperately needed and pioneering approach.
Ecdysis deploys teams across North America to generate comprehensive environmental inventories of operations in various stages of regenerative adoption.
We are collecting and analyzing biometrics of agricultural systems to produce farm-level data and demonstrate how management practices affect the ecological health of the land. Each producer receives a Grower Report of their farm's data to learn about the health of their land and how it compares to other farms in the region.
The 1000 Farms’ inventories help fill the data gaps associated with claims of regenerative agriculture.
Our measurements quantify:
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Chemical and physical properties of soil, including soil carbon, microbiology and organic matter
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Water dynamics
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Diversity and biomass of plant communities
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Insect diversity and distribution
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Bird abundance, diversity, and habitat use
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Pests, both plant pathogens and insect pests
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Crop nutrient analyses
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Economics and net profitability
We practice relationship-based science.
Picture this. You’re a farmer or rancher. A string of crappy minivans raises a plume of dust as they turn from the rural lane into your drive. These vehicles are filled with half a dozen energetic and energizing young scientists who are not scientists, at least not based on a traditional definition. They may not have an advanced degree in soil science or entomology...
...but they care about your farm, just as they care about the other farms they have already visited that day, that week, that month.
We want to meet the farmers, shake their hand,
and learn about what makes their farm special.
1000 Farms Initiative
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