On-farm with Jeremy Clarkson and Kaleb Cooper: "I like the idea of farming the unfarmed"

Livestock reporter Ellie Layton is at Clarkson's Farm in Chipping Norton hearing about all things season three

clock • 3 min read
On-farm with Jeremy Clarkson and Kaleb Cooper: "I like the idea of farming the unfarmed"

Sitting down on a hay bale with his farming colleague and friend Kaleb Cooper, TV farming star Jeremy Clarkson said he hopes farmers will enjoy season three of Clarkson's Farm. 

In a live Q and A session today (April 24) at his farm in Chipping Norton, the farming team from the popular TV show welcomed the media on-farm ahead of the show's launch on May 3. 

Topics of conversation focused on getting the farming message across to the public, finding their place on the farm and business risks farmers face daily. They even hinted at a fourth season.

Jeremy said: "A statistic I worked out yesterday was that when we grow wheat, we get 25p for a kilogram. A kilogram is enough to make one loaf of bread. 

"We get 25p, you pay £1.40 in the supermarket - what is happening here? We are the ones spending a fortune, working throughout the night, praying the weather does not misbehave and that it is milling quality otherwise it is just animal feed.

"That is why farming is nuts. 

"We do not choose, this is how much you get wheat at the moment." 

READ NOW: Q&A with Jeremy Clarkson: "Farming on television has been portrayed as fresh straw, fluffy lambs, agreeable calves - a bit like babe"

Kaleb Cooper and Jeremy Clarkson during the Question and Answer

Relationship

In true Jeremy and Kaleb style, they bicker about the goats - Jeremy says 'they have got nice eyes' but Kaleb wants to make them into a real business venture and sell them through the shop. 

But, said Jeremy, he has always taken advice from him.

"There has been a change - I have picked up a few things," Jeremy said.

"He tells me to do something, I did not used to be able to do it, but now I can do it a bit. 

"I still cannot hitch up a trailer."

As much as they argue, Kaleb does offer some praise, even if Jeremy's farming methods - especially when it comes to harvesting berries - are somewhat unorthodox.

"With the pigs I thought: Here we go, here is another thing I will have to babysit but actually, it is the one thing I can leave you to do. He is actually a really good pig farmer," he said.

"But I am never going to forget coming up the drive in the morning and [Jeremy is] just hoovering a hedge. 

"I thought: You know what? I do not have the energy to stop and ask what you are doing."

READ NOW: Diversification was a necessity for Yorkshire farm's survival

Clarkson's Farm team

Throughout their farming venture, there has, of course, been ups and downs, but Kaleb said they have now all fell into their own roles.

He said: "All of a sudden, team work happens and you all combine together to get the job done. 

"We are a good team."

This season sees Jeremy try and make money from any parcels of unused land he can, which Kaleb supports.

He said: "I like the idea of farming the unfarmed. The average farm size is 125 acres - is all that always farmed?

"Probably not if you take out the woodland and the hedgerows."

Farm shop

Lisa Hogan, Jeremy's partner, led a tour around the farm shop, the famous Diddly Squat, showcasing all the local delights like cheeses and honey. 

It comes after the announcement today that Amazon Fresh will now stock Diddly Squat Farm Shop products online and in store, so fans can get their hands on the range including jams, chutneys, rapeseed oils, seasonings, juices, alcohol and merchandise. 

They may be on TV and give the world a laugh, but farming is no joke.

Jeremy said: "We might come across as hobby farmers, but we are real farmers, this is not a petting zoo.

"Look around it is a farm - it is not a little 20 acres."

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