Introducing Six Inches of Soil Principal Anna Jackson
Anna filming with Six Inches of Soil Director Colin Ramsay
What brought you to farming/growing?
I come from a long line of farmers - I’m 11th generation! Growing up my dad Andrew said, “don’t be a farmer there’s no money in it, get an education and do something else”. So, I did photography for about eight years and ran a not-for-profit company called “Zero Waste Life” on the side. I was living in London, Covid hit, and I wasn’t earning enough money to stay in the city, so I thought I’m going to have to go home. I was getting bored pretty quickly, so I started to shadow dad on the farm, and I’ve been farming ever since.
Can you tell us about the land you work?
When I came back it was a different farm to the one I grew up on. Dad had changed, he was excited about his no-till drill, and he really enjoyed telling me about all the different types of worms in our soil. When I was still in London he recommended I read Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown and that planted the seed for what was to come. Then when I came home I saw a similar situation in real life. We’ve got a 30-year programme although we’d like to do it quicker. We started our regen journey seven years ago from a very conventional ploughing farm and during that time we’ve made the transition to a happy regen farm that’s as organic as it can possibly be. We’re not going to be registered as an organic farm, but we’ll be as organic as possible. The majority of big farmers in the UK are my dad’s age and if he can change his whole farm then other farmers can too.
Why did you choose to take part in the film?
I met Claire (Six Inches of Soil Producer) through our farm consultant, Ben Taylor- Davies otherwise known as “Regen Ben”. Claire said to him that Six Inches of Soil were looking for a new entrant farmer and Ben told her to check out my TikTok videos. And here I am. Regen farming is really important to me and my family and I think this film will help to inspire other farmers to start looking at how they can regenerate the soils on their farms.
What does nature friendly farming mean to you?
It means everything, I really care about the environment and about our planet. The five regen farming principles are actually so basic: try not to disturb the soil, keep the soil surface covered, keep living roots in the soil, grow a diverse range of crops and bring back grazing on to the land. It’s so important that we’re all open to this discussion and to learn how we can change for the better. Dad and I are happy to talk to conventional farmers about money and yields and to have an honest and open conversation about regen farming and how to change for the better.
Follow Anna on Instagram @annaracheljackson
