Regenerative Agriculture & Chestnuts

 Nora D’Antuono and team from the Ecdysis Foundation visit EBB Farms in western Kentucky.  The focus was on chestnut orchard regenerative agriculture.  And the visit was the team’s first chestnut orchard sampling site in the 1,000 Farms Initiative.  ​

First, Nora shares what the Ecdysis team is learning as they travel the country to collect regenerative agriculture data and listen to growers on the ground. She explains how chestnut trees fit into diverse, perennial systems and why biodiversity above and below the soil matters for long-term resilience.

Next, you will hear how AI tools like BugBox and bird-listening platforms such as Xerinx help the team monitor insects, birds, and broader ecosystem health. These simple sampling tools give farmers faster insight into what is living on their land and how management changes the biology of a farm.​

Meanwhile, Nora points to what makes chestnut farming unique and promising for the future, from low-input tree crops to new food and market possibilities. By the end of this video, you will see how chestnut orchards, regenerative science, and farmer-led data collection work together to build a more resilient food system.

What We Can Learn from 1,000 Farms: A Conversation with Nora D’antuono of the Ecdysis Foundation