Farming Without Burning Out: Boundaries, Joy, and Mental Resilience

Farming Without Burning Out: Boundaries, Joy, and Mental Resilience

Author: Oliver Goshey February 6, 2026 Duration: 58:38
To start off the year, I wanted to explore a topic that often gets swept under the rug. Mental well-being, or the lack of it, in farming communities has reached epedemic levels. Farmers in Europe face a nasty mix of chronic overwork and poor recovery, high uncertainty and low control in their work, and heavy admin/compliance pressure, often while working in social isolation with a culture that can discourage help-seeking. Those pressures stack and reinforce each other (less sleep and more stress lead to worse decisions, more conflict and injuries, tighter finances, and even less time off) driving burnout, anxiety/depression, and in some contexts elevated suicide risk. The stress factors for farmers are only increasing too, as weather variance, economic pressure, bureaucratic stress, and social factors mount. For this reason my hope in this panel session is to shed some light on mental health, and some ways to avoid burnout in the upcoming season from a number of different perspectives. 

What does it mean to live a regenerative life, and how do we actually do it? That's the central question explored in Regenerative Skills, hosted by Oliver Goshey. This isn't just about theory; it's a practical dialogue focused on stewardship of the natural world and fostering strong, resilient communities. Every week, Oliver brings conversations with a diverse range of global experts right to your ears, translating their knowledge into actionable steps you can integrate into your daily habits. You'll hear tangible strategies for everything from soil health and sustainable food systems to building local networks and re-skilling ourselves for a better future. The aim is to move beyond sustainability toward active regeneration, providing the tools and perspectives needed to make a tangible difference right where you are. Tune into this educational podcast for a grounded, hopeful, and deeply informative journey. Together, these discussions build a comprehensive guide for anyone looking to heal their relationship with the environment and their neighbors, proving that positive change is woven from countless small, intentional actions.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Regenerative Skills
Podcast Episodes
Growing seed professionally, with Dan Brisebois [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:00
I’ve explored the topic of seed saving and breeding a number of times in previous episodes and it’s become such a passion of mine that it’s the primary focus of my early work here on my own farm as I begin to get the mai…
Rediscovering perennial staple food sources, with Elspeth Hay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:01
As I continue to advance the tree and perennial food nursery here at my farm, I’m always on the lookout for new resources on anything about growing and breeding perennial food sources, the history of their cultivation, a…