Six Inches of Soil - The Podcast

FARMING MENTAL SUPPORT RESOURCES:

If you or someone you love is struggling, help is available. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In the UK, you can call 111 and select option 2 to access urgent mental health support. If you’re elsewhere, please seek out local crisis services in your country. You’re not alone. It’s okay to ask for help.

Other resources:

UK
RABI https://rabi.org.uk/ 0800 188 4444
LensLight: https://lenslight.co.uk/
Young Farmers set up Mental health support
Farming Community Network: https://fcn.org.uk/ 03000 111 999
Yellow Wellies https://www.yellowwellies.org/
We are Farming Minds: https://www.wearefarmingminds.co.uk/
RSABI https://www.rsabi.org.uk (Scotland): 0808 1234 555
YANA (You Are Not Alone) https://www.yanahelp.org/ 0300 323 0400
The DPJ Foundation (Wales) https://www.thedpjfoundation.co.uk/ 0800 587 4262

USA
Farm Aid Hotline: 1-800-FARM-AID (1-800-327-6243)
Call: 988
Agrisafe: agri stress helping 833-897-2474
https://www.agrisafe.org/agristress-helpline/
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI):https://www.nami.org/ 800-950-6264.
SAMHSA National Helpline: https://www.samhsa.gov/ 1-800-662-HELP(4357)
Regional Resources: Many agricultural states, such as Minnesota (833-600-2670)

NZ
FARM STRONG https://mentalhealth.org.nz/our-work/farmstrong

Canada
https://ccaw.ca/ Call 1-866-FARMS01
Farm talk care: https://farmtalkcare.ca/care/

EPISODE 12: Unraveled – Mental Health in Farming

This episode explores the often-unseen mental health challenges faced by farmers around the world. Through personal stories, expert insight, and urgent calls to action, we examine the deep connections between mental health, soil health, and community—and how regenerative systems can help heal both land and people.

Host & Producer: Richard Tufton
Co-host & Producer: Claire Mackenzie
Editor: Meg Chatham
Original Score: Matt Griffin (poet & farmer) – Instagram: @neidpath_farms

Featured Partners & Resources

Six Inches of Soil
Website: www.sixinchesofsoil.org
Book & socials available via website

Microbz
microbz.co.uk
Get 20% off with code LOVESOIL

Guests

Tom Morphew
Founder of Full Circle Farms Sussex and The Garden Army CIC, Tom is a regenerative farming pioneer working at the intersection of soil health, social impact, and circular economy. His closed-loop farms turn food waste into compost and chemical-free food, while also serving as care farms and outdoor classrooms. A two-time TED Talk speaker, Tom is proving that farming can restore soil, support people, and remain commercially viable.

Hugh Addison
Raised on an organic dairy, beef, and sheep farm in Cumbria, Hugh is passionate about strengthening the mental health and resilience of the farming community. In 2025, he co-founded The Borderline Challenge, a UK and Ireland ultratriathlon raising awareness and funds for farmer mental health in partnership with RABI.
Instagram: @theborderlinechallenge

Dr Michael Rosmann
A psychologist and farmer, Michael Rosmann is a global leader in agricultural mental health. Through his work with AgriWellness, he helped shape the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network in the U.S. Farm Bill. His research and writing, including the amazing book Meditations on Farming, laid the foundation for the field of agricultural behavioral health.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FEATURING:
Host, producer: Richard Tufton & Oscar Tufton
Co-host, producer: Claire Mackenzie
Editor: Meg Chatham
Director: Colin Ramsay
Score: Matt Griffin (poet & farmer) Instagram: @neidpath_farms

Megs Blog: https://regenagvocate.substack.com/

From the Ground Up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2RPjS3v6uA&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dfrom%2Bthe%2Bground%2Bup%2B-%2Bcambridge%2Bsoil%26sca_esv%3D76156e36b6817723%26sxsrf%3DANbL-n4MXFxu8dFBg5dMxP0yQa9h9&source_ve_path=MzY4NDIsMjg2NjY

Six Inches of Soil:
Website: https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/
Book: https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/book
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sixinchesofsoil/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/six-inches-of-soil-b75059234/

Microbz: https://microbz.co.uk/
Get 20% off with code LOVESOIL at microbz.co.uk.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host and producer: Richard Tufton
Co-host and producer: Claire Mackenzie
Editor: Meg Chatham
Score: Matt Griffin

Six Inches of Soil
Website: www.sixinchesofsoil.org
Book: sixinchesofsoil.org/book
Instagram: @sixinchesofsoil
LinkedIn: six-inches-of-soil-b75059234

Sponsored by
Fielden: fielden.com
Code SOIL10 gives 10 percent off all whisky.
Microbz: microbz.co.uk
Code LOVESOIL gives 20 percent off.

Introduction
We welcomed Michael Kennard, Jeff Allen, Erin Martin, and Evan Buckman into the studio. We talked about soil health, human health, and how microbes link everything together. We explored composting, farming practices, nutrient-dense food, and the connection between soil and gut health.

Jeff Allen
Jeff and his wife Sue co-founded Microbz. Jeff grew up on a farm in Kenya and built a strong connection to land and wildlife. In 2008 he travelled across the US, Europe, and Australia in search of environmental solutions and discovered microbial technology. He has since pioneered fermenting microbes with herbs and minerals for health and agriculture. He runs the Microbz brewery in Wiltshire and focuses on scaling microbial solutions.
Website: microbz.co.uk
Instagram: @microbzprobiotics
Facebook: MicrobzProbiotics
TikTok: @microbz

Michael Kennard
Michael Kennard is a Soil Association Ambassador and founder of Regenerative Soils Consultancy and Compost Club, makers of Biolife Compost in East Sussex. This World Soil Day, Compost Club expands to Hailsham, Herstmonceux, and Heathfield. He now farms regeneratively at Furnace Brook’s Meliora Farm and will launch his podcast Soil, Seed, and Soul in the new year.
Use code COMPOSTCLUB15 for 15 percent off at agriton.co.uk.
Instagram: @compost_michael @compost_club
Website: compostclub.online
Farm: furnacebrook.org.uk

Erin W Martin
Erin Martin’s drive to help others started at fifteen while working in a retirement community. She later earned a master’s in Gerontology from USC. Certified in Regenerative Soil Advocacy, she focuses on food as medicine and its link to soil. She serves as President of the Tulsa Urban Ag Coalition, Director of Oklahoma’s FreshRx program, and co-leads the state’s Food is Medicine Policy Coalition. Her work brings regenerative agriculture into care for people with chronic disease.
Instagram: @expertonaging @freshrxok
Facebook: FreshRx Oklahoma, Erin W. Martin
YouTube: @freshrxok @erinwmartin
X: @erinwmartin
TikTok: @foodasmedicine
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erinwmartin
FreshRx: linkedin.com/company/freshrx

Evan Buckman
Evan Buckman is Executive Director at Soil Food Web. He works at the intersection of science, food systems, and regenerative land projects. He earned a Permaculture Design Certificate in 2014 and later a BS in Applied Chemistry from Minerva University, focusing on Biological and Earth Systems. Evan has supported clean water and sanitation projects for rural and Indigenous communities and worked on regenerative bio-economies in the Amazon. Now based in Texas, he produces commercial bio-amendments for farmers, landscapers, and land stewards.
Living Legacy webinar series: community.soilfoodweb.com
YouTube: youtube.com/soilfoodwebschool
Facebook: Soil Food Web School
LinkedIn: soilfoodwebschool
Instagram: @soilfoodwebschool

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host, producer: Richard Tufton
Co-host, producer: Claire Mackenzie
Editor: Meg Chatham
Score: Matt Griffin (poet & farmer) Instagram: @neidpath_farms

Code SOIL10 gives 10% off all whisky on fielden.com.

Six Inches of Soil film: https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/
Six Inches of Soil book: https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/book

We explore one question: What does it mean to save us from the ground up?
Katharine Hayhoe shows you how to talk about climate change with connection and hope.
Will Harris has spent years rebuilding his family’s land in Bluffton, Georgia.
Mike Fossum has seen the planet from above on his missions to the International Space Station.

Katharine Hayhoe: https://www.katharinehayhoe.com/
https://www.instagram.com/katharinehayhoe?igsh=aDVycTA2ejFhcHpn
Saving Us book
Ted Talk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BvcToPZCLI

Col Mike Fossum https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/fossum.pdf
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-fossum-93391686/

Will Harris
https://whiteoakpastures.com/
https://www.instagram.com/whiteoakpastures?igsh=am9haTdoYmY0aTZw
A Bold Return to Giving a Damn

Runoff video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85El8PzfKa4
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host, producer: Richard Tufton
Co-host, producer: Claire Mackenzie
Editor: Meg Chatham

Six Inches of Soil:
Website: https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/
Book: https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/book
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sixinchesofsoil/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/six-inches-of-soil-b75059234/

Introduction
Dr Grandin and Gabe Brown explore how uniting animal welfare with regenerative agriculture and combining soil practices with Temple’s farming solutions, you have nature and nurture working together as one big metaphorical “hug machine”. This offers a communal hug, if you will, by enveloping the animal’s life with a safe, healthy, happy and tranquil environment, which we know will undoubtedly provide a better life for them. Their conversation explores integrating livestock with crops, consumer expectations, youth involvement, climate change, and the role of innovation and visual thinking in food production.

Featuring

Dr. Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin is a leading scientist, author, and speaker whose autism experience shaped her groundbreaking work on reducing stress for humans and animals. Now a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, she also consults on livestock handling and welfare.

Her life has been highlighted by NPR (National Public Radio), the BBC film "The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow" and HBO’s Emmy-winning Temple Grandin. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016.

Websites:
https://www.templegrandin.com/
https://agsci.colostate.edu/ag_stories/temple-grandin/

Gabe Brown is a pioneer of the soil health movement. With his family, he transformed Brown’s Ranch, a 5,000-acre North Dakota farm, by working in nature’s image. Now run by his son Paul and wife Jazmin, the ranch reflects his legacy. Author of Dirt to Soil, Gabe is a Regenified board member, founding partner of Understanding Ag, and co-founder of the Soil Health Academy, which trains farmers worldwide in ecosystem-based practices.

Websites:
https://brownsranch.us/
https://regenified.com/about-us/
https://understandingag.com/partners/gabe-brown/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brownsranch/?hl=en
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.