Film followed by a short talk from local farmers: Sophia Ashe and David Wilson. Film runs for 1 hour 36 minutes
You’ve heard about the trials and tribulations of farming from Jeremy Clarkson, but here are some hands-on experiences of young farmers who are trying to transform our food system.
Tonight’s film, Six Inches of Soil, introduced by Tetbury Goods Shed chairman, Richard Warrington, tells the story of remarkable farmers, communities, small businesses, chefs and entrepreneurs who are leading the way to transform how our food is produced and consumed.
The screening will be followed by short talks by former Highgrove farm manager, David Wilson, and local sheep farmer Sophia Ashe.
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 is an 11th generation Lincolnshire arable and sheep farmer. Adrienne Gordon is a Cambridgeshire small-scale vegetable farmer. Ben Thomas 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 who help them on their journey. They are joined by other experts providing wisdom and solutions from a growing movement of people who are dedicated to changing the trajectory for food, farming and the planet. Our farmers will have to navigate a broken food system, farm in a landscape degraded by industrial agriculture and learn how to reconnect people with the soil, where their food comes from and how it is produced.
The film looks at the history of British farming and asks “How did we get here?” through a short animated chapter that brings the audience up to speed with the industrial heritage of farming and the solutions that are within reach.
About tonight’s speakers
Sophia Ashe
Sophia graduated from the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester in 2019 and now work full-time on a local farm. She also spent a few months working in Australia and Argentina to gain a greater knowledge of global food production, and has been been selected as one of the NFU Young Ambassadors for 2024.
David Wilson
David Wilson was farm manager at Highgrove for 36 years followed by three years in the north Cotswolds at Fir Farm and Steve Winwood’s Lower Dean Manor Farm, establishing organic regenerative systems on both holdings.
He is now at Bowden Park Farm near Lacock with his youngest son Benj, in a new venture restoring a rundown estate by reintroducing livestock as part of an organic mixed farming system. He is interested in the links between soil, plant, animal and human health as well as the preservation of rare and heritage food genetics and their role in our future.
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