Dr. Jonathan (Jon) Lundgren says it’s easy to see evidence of Ecdysis’ intervention when visiting the farm. He feels it through the new sounds of birds chirping, bugs whizzing by his ears, fresh shades of green radiating from the fields before him, the thriving community around him, and the laughter of the farmers. Lots of laughs. As a farmer, scientist and founder of the South Dakota-based nonprofit Ecdysis Foundation, his mission is to translate these anecdotal indicators of a thriving ecosystem into data that farmers can use to monitor the health of their farms and make informed, evidence-based management decisions.
Regenerative agriculture practices prioritize soil health to maximize farmland vitality and food quality. Jon links regenerative agriculture practices to improving livelihoods by reducing reliance on pesticides for better health outcomes, diversifying income sources for economic gain, increasing nutrient density in food, and creating biodiversity for natural pest control. These outcomes can lead to long-term resilience and, as Jon notably adds, happier farming communities.
“One of the key outcomes of regenerative agriculture is stronger connections in your communities, in your family and then in the natural world around us,” says Jon. “There is something innately human about it.
The 1,000 Farms Initiative and Closing the Data Gap
That’s why in 2022, Ecdysis, with the support of the Cisco Foundation Climate Resilience Grant, launched its “1,000 Farms” initiative, a project designed to scientifically validate the ecological and economic benefits of regenerative agriculture. Ecdysis provides farmers with the training and technology infrastructure to upload farm samples to the system for feedback. The platform then shows how soil chemistry, water retention levels and biodiversity affect farm outcomes. By transforming raw data into clear, actionable insights, this initiative enables farmers to make informed decisions that optimize farm health through best regenerative practices. This is central to the Cisco Foundation’s efforts to support an inclusive future for all by making cutting-edge technologies available to more people and organizations.
“When technology helps improve farmers’ connection with nature or their community, it’s hugely important to the progress of our food system and society in general,” says Jon. “Involving farmers in measuring their own operations allows them to try new things on their farms and not have to wait for a scientific team to arrive. They can just measure what appears to be happening and they can monitor it in real time, so it allows them to understand the full implications of management changes on important regeneration outcomes.”
The road to regeneration
Gail Fuller is a cattle rancher born and raised in Kansas. His farm, Fuller Farms, is one of more than 1,700 farms sampled by Ecdysis as part of this project. Starting out as a typical soybean and corn farmer, Gail faced problems with soil erosion and excessive use of chemicals in conventional practices. He began experimenting with regenerative practices when he became frustrated with his yields, the poor health of his land and community, and experienced a decline in his mental health as a result.
“I live in rural America. I grew up on a farm, I love wildlife, I like to play in streams and ponds, and they were all becoming toxic,” Gail recalls. “The pond that my grandfather taught me to fish in, that my brother and I used to play in, became a lagoon for our feeders. There were no fish left. Streams and rivers were loaded with chemicals and we started to see a decline in wildlife.”
Gail says the Ecdysis data saved him costs by determining which specific practices were most beneficial for his country. Once Gail incorporated restorative practices like adding cover crops, grazing cattle and eliminating chemicals into his routine, Gail says his farm “just exploded with life.”
“I see Ecdysis giving farmers real data that gives them encouragement and courage to make changes,” says Gail. “Whether they’re conventional farmers sitting on the fence, or they’ve dipped a toe into regenerative agriculture but are still hesitant, the information you get from Ecdysis helps people take those steps into the unknown.”
Creating community through data availability
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin is the owner of Salvatierra Farm, the regenerative poultry of Tree-Range Farm in Northfield, Minnesota, and Ecdysis has tasted his farm’s samples twice. When Reginaldo and his wife Amy bought Salvatierra in 2021, the soil was so depleted of nutrients that trees did not grow for the first three years. Since then, with the help of Ecdysis and in partnership with the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, Reginaldo has cultivated a thriving poultry business and helped build a strong regenerative poultry community in the area. Reginaldo says the information he received from Ecdysis was critical to the farm’s decision-making and strategic planning. Recently, Reginaldo was excited to see that Ecdysis data showed that growing biostimulants on his farm created more nutrients in his soil.
“We now have a baseline, and I know that baseline will support our practices this year. We now have documented evidence that we will be more successful,” he says. “The fact that Ecdysis collects this information and makes it available to us equips us with the other half of the equation.”
Gail and Reginaldo believe that regenerative agriculture is the lifeline of rural America, and they see community as a central tenet of fostering positive change in the industry. Farmers see themselves on both the give and take side of what Jon calls “relationship science” through community support.
“Without a community, it’s not going to turn into a regenerative landscape (because communities mean communities of practice, including the scientific community, which is where the Ecdysis Foundation has been critical for us because they’re now part of our regeneration community,” says Reginaldo. “Even though they’re not involved in agriculture, they’re critical to the overall success and pursuit of regenerative outcomes.”
The Ecdysis Foundation and farmers like it across America are involved in building resilient local economies where people and land can thrive together. With the support of Cisco Foundation Climate Resilience Grants, they are better equipped with the data, technology, and insights needed to make this goal a scalable reality.