Six Inches of Soil

Six Inches of Soil is a British independent full feature documentary shining a spotlight on soil health and regenerative farming. It tells the inspiring story of young British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food – to heal the soil, our health and provide for local communities.

The aims of the film are to sound the alarm on a broken system, but to also give hope that there is a way to fix it; to inspire farmers to adopt agroecological and regenerative farming practices; and to encourage consumers, food corporations and policymakers to support their efforts.

Half the food we eat in the UK is produced by about 180,000 farmers, who manage 70% of our land. Current “industrial” mainstream farming practices significantly contribute to soil degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Regenerative farming practices, (within an agroecological system) promote healthier soils, provide healthier, affordable food, restore biodiversity and sequester carbon.

Six Inches of Soil is a story of three new farmers on the first year of their regenerative journey to heal the soil and help transform the food system – Anna Jackson, a Lincolnshire 11th generation arable and sheep farmer; Adrienne Gordon, a Cambridgeshire small-scale vegetable farmer; and Ben Thomas, who rears pasture fed beef cattle in Cornwall. As the trio of young farmers strive to adopt regenerative practices and create viable businesses, they meet seasoned mentors – John Pawsey in Suffolk, Nic Renison in Cumbria and Marina O’Connell in Devon – who help them on their journey. They are joined by other experts – Henry Dimbleby, Ian Wilkinson, Mike Berners-Lee, Vicki Hird, Dee Woods, Tim Lang, Hannah Jones, Satish Kumar, Nicole Masters, Tom Pearson – providing wisdom and solutions from a growing movement of people who are dedicated to changing the trajectory for food, farming and the planet.

The 96 minute film, with its original music score and beautiful animation, was completed at the end of 2023, and was launched at the Oxford Real Farming Conference on 4th January 2024. It was also shown at COP 28 in December 2023 through EIT Food Systems.

“WOW @sixinchesofsoil what an amazing 🤩 movie! I never thought I could watch a movie about soil and get emotional” Michael Aggrey at COP28

Photo credit Six Inches of Soil
Brewery Arts would like to mention a special thanks to Barbara Berry,  for all her help in recruiting our panelists.

Hosted by:
Harriet Fraser – ‘Poet, environmental artist and PhD researcher, with a special interest in land use and farming in the uplands. She collaborates with her partner Rob Fraser through their practice ‘somewhere nowhere’. www.somewhere-nowhere.com.’

Joined by our panelists:
Professor Mike Berners-Lee (Lancaster University) – ‘Consults, thinks, writes and researches on sustainability, the polycrisis and responses to 21^st century problems.’

James Robinson – ‘We farm 300ac of organic land east of Kendal, next year my family will have been here at Strickley for 150 years. 250 Dairy Shorthorns graze a mix of diverse pasture and meadow, which is interspersed with wetland, ancient hedgerows and woodland. I am also the current England Chair for the Nature Friendly Farming Network’

Bill Grayson – ‘Our cows graze key nature reserves around Morecambe Bay, visibly enhancing their ecological value, whilst, according to recent audits, turning them into net-sinks for carbon.’

Kate Roberts – ‘Working with land caretakers to assess and nurture soil biology, and so enhance the health of plants, animals and ecology.’

 Presented in Partnership with South Lakes Action on Climate Change: towards transition.

Presented in Partnership with PEAT ‘Working together for a sustainable future for people and planet with all residents and communities of this lovely South Lakeland peninsula; from hamlet to town and fell to foreshore.’