The Farmer Needs Regeneration Too: Gail Fuller on Mental Health in Agriculture

How can we talk about healing the soil… if we’re not healing the farmer?" -- Nicole Masters

---

What does it really mean to regenerate—not just the land, but the person farming it? In this powerful episode, Gail Fuller opens up about the unseen stress farmers face and why healing the soil starts with healing ourselves.

New episode now live on The Jill Clapperton Podcast

This week on The Jill Clapperton Podcast, we’re diving into a topic that’s too often overlooked in agriculture: the mental and emotional health of farmers.

In this deeply personal episode, regenerative farmer and Fuller Field School founder Gail Fuller shares his journey through burnout, physical health struggles, and the realization that soil health and self-care must go hand in hand.

Speaking the Unspoken: The Farmer Needs Regeneration Too

“Farmers are really depressed.You can see it in them—in their habits, the way they act, the way they talk. And for me, it just came to the point that somebody has to do something.”

In the episode, Gail talks about what led him to this moment of reflection, including a powerful moment in 2021 when soil health expert Nicole Masters visited the Fuller Field School.

IWhen Gail and his partner Lynette started reading For the Love of Soil, the first chapter struck a little too close to home for Gail. He had to set it aside—but Lynette read on, and what she found in the final chapter sparked a meaningful shift in how they viewed healing on the farm.

▶️ Watch a clip below from Season 4, Episode 2 to hear more.

Clip from Season 4, Episode 2 of The Jill Clapperton Podcast featuring Gail Fuller.

“Nicole challenges the reader: How can we talk about regenerative farming and healing the soil when there’s no talk about healing the farmer?”

That insight helped Gail name something he’d been feeling for years: that his approach to healing—both his body and his land—had been piecemeal. Like an eight-horse hitch with every horse pulling in a different direction, working hard but going nowhere.

A Wake-Up Call for Regenerative Ag

“I’ve been on the farms and ranches of people leading this movement…but now that I think about it, I’ve yet to be on a regenerative farm—including my own.”

This episode challenges us to expand the definition of “regenerative.” It’s not just about cover crops, compost, and grazing—it’s about the people doing the work, too. It’s about recognizing that burnout, stress, and unspoken trauma are part of the current farm system, and that must change.

🎧 Listen to the Full Episode

🎙️ The Jill Clapperton Podcast – Season 4, Episode 2: The Farmer Needs Regeneration Too: From Burnout to Balance with Gail Fuller

Now streaming on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• 📘 For the Love of Soil by Nicole Masters

• 🌾 Fuller Field School

• 🚜 Circle 7 by Fuller Farms

• 
  

Want to Learn More About Soil Health & Better Food?

🌱 Read the blog: rhizoterra.com/blog🍎 Explore our food guide: rhizoterra.com/betterfood📺 Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@jillclappertonsoilhealth

💌 Got questions about soil health? Send us a message: hello@jillclapperton.com

☕ Like our work? Support us with a tip: buymeacoffee.com/jillclapperton