ABOUT ECDYSIS FOUNDATION
Ecdysis Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Estelline, South Dakota, dedicated to advancing regenerative agriculture through relationship-based, independent research.
Our Mission
Serve as a scientific voice to support the evolution of a regenerative food system through research, demonstration, and education.
Our Vision
We envision a world where producers and scientists work side by side to regenerate life on farms, grow nourishing food, foster resilient ecosystems, and build strong communities.
"When scientists become farmers it increases the relevance of our questions and credibility of our work. And it goes both ways — farmers need to be our research partners.”
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- Dr. Jonathan Lundgren, Ecdysis Foundation
Our Headquarters
Blue Dasher Farm
Blue Dasher Farm is a regenerative farm and our Ecdysis headquarters located near Estelline, South Dakota.
We’re not only scientists processing samples in the lab. We’re farmers too.
On any given day, staff can be found moving sheep, mucking barns, starting seeds, or checking on bees.
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Blue Dasher connects us to the same challenges producers face, and it keeps our work grounded in community.​
Blue Dasher Farm produces honey, eggs, lamb, and pork.​ Visit the Blue Dasher Farm website.
Ecdysis Foundation
Our science is designed to guide the choices shaping the future of food.
We deliver peer-reviewed research by using a decentralized, farmer-centered model that contrasts with traditional research.
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Ecdysis works side by side with producers to show how different management decisions affect the outcomes of active farms.
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Such research includes the 1000 Farms Initiative.
The 1000 Farms Initiative is conducted at a continental scale, creating a large, comprehensive dataset that is essential for guiding both global food policy and practical on-farm decisions. ​
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By collecting data across diverse regions, growing systems, and management styles, we create an evidence-based, big-picture view of agriculture that small scale studies can't capture.