Ecdysis x EBB Farms: What 1000 Farms Is Teaching Us (Soil, Bugs & Better Yields)

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We hosted Nora D’Antuono from the Ecdysis Foundation at EBB Farms to unpack the 1000 Farms Initiative. This farmer-powered project studies how biodiversity and soil health drive real resilience and profit on working farms.

Nora explains what the 1000 Farms Initiative is and why so many growers are joining. She shows how Ecdysis and Blue Dasher Farm use insects as indicators of soil and ecosystem health. Bugs become a simple way to see what is happening in your fields without guessing.

We walk through practical tools like the BugBox and Xerinx. Nora explains, in plain language, how these tools help farmers collect and process insect samples without needing a lab. You learn how simple sampling and shared data help growers make better decisions, faster.

This conversation also looks at outcomes. Nora shares what farmers are seeing in terms of resilience, yield, and risk when they manage for biodiversity and soil health. We connect those lessons to chestnut farming at EBB Farms and to the wider regenerative agriculture movement.

Community is a big part of the 1000 Farms Initiative. By sharing data and stories, farmers create a clearer picture than any single field can provide. Nora closes with practical first steps you can take this season, from basic bug sampling to joining networks that are already measuring and sharing.

Branching Out: Growing Together is the chestnut‑and‑beyond show from United Chestnuts. Our goal is to make chestnut farming visible, viable, and collaborative nationwide, and this 1000 Farms episode is a key part of that story.