Video: Farming under ‘relentless’ attack on all fronts, says Clarkson

Jeremy Clarkson has described the past year on Diddly Squat Farm as “an absolute disaster”, warning that ordinary farmers are being hit from all sides as cashflow tightens and uncertainty mounts across the industry.

In a surprise appearance with land agent and Clarkson’s Farm co-star Charlie Ireland at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham on Monday 5 October, Mr Clarkson told shadow Defra secretary Victoria Atkins the 400ha farm in Oxfordshire had little to show for a punishing season.

“We worked really hard all year and we ended up with, I think I’m right in saying, three ounces of hen food,” he said, reflecting on a season hit by extreme weather.

Watch a video of Jeremy Clarkson and Charlie Ireland speaking to shadow Defra secretary Victoria Atkins at the Conservative Party Conference.

See also: Farmer Focus: Jeremy Clarkson – an asset to UK agriculture

“But I’m lucky we’ve got other projects going on now. The farming is very, very, very, very difficult at the moment.”

Mr Ireland said conditions were “extraordinarily tough” for most farm businesses, citing poor productivity, rising costs and volatile prices.

“Cash has never been so tight on farms,” he said, with cashflow on arable farms particularly stretched. He added that the knock-on effect was visible in the wider rural economy, with machinery dealers under pressure.

Mr Ireland joked that not every farmer had “a quiz show to host on ITV”. Mr Clarkson acknowledged he was “very fortunate” to have other income streams, including newspaper columns.

“If you’re an ordinary farmer, it’s not just the weather,” he said. “Remember, it’s as Charlie was saying, the attacks come from everywhere – whether it’s Iran or Ukraine or taxes or energy costs – whatever it might be, it’s just relentless.”

Charlie Ireland, Jeremy Clarkson and Victoria Atkins MP © The Conservative Party

Bovine TB devastation

Mr Clarkson said bovine TB had struck the farm last year, describing the disease as “absolutely devastating”. He spent three days speaking to vets, scientists and even Brian May to better understand the issue, but said opinions on how to tackle it varied widely.

“It’s Defra and government’s job to listen to all these different opinions and then formulate a plan,” he said. “There is no plan. They’re making TB noises at the moment, but there’s nothing concrete coming down the line any time soon.”

He added: “I think we got a vaccine for Covid in, what, six months? We’ve had bovine TB for 200 years and we’re still not solving it.”

Planning logjam

Mr Clarkson said Diddly Squat had been waiting since February for a decision on proposals linked to the farm shop.

He sympathised with “massively overworked” planning officers, but said large developments such as solar farms appeared to pass quickly while small rural proposals stalled.

“How can you run a business when you can’t get an answer for seven months about whether you can do it or not?” he asked.

Mr Ireland said farmers seeking permission for winter irrigation reservoirs were being asked for excessive surveys. Capturing winter rainfall, he said, needed “a sense check of the questions being asked”.

At his Farmer’s Dog pub near his farm, Mr Clarkson said national insurance costs had risen by £146,000 and the fuel bill by about £13,000 since the Iran conflict. The pub still relies on generators and a borehole because it cannot access mains electricity or water, despite being in Oxfordshire.

Asked by Ms Atkins whether he would open a second pub, he said: “I am actually looking quite hard into the possibility.”

But he added: “It’s not going to be in the UK.”

Asked why, he replied: “Why would anybody set up a business in this country right now?”

Inheritance tax

Both men voiced concerns about the Labour government’s inheritance tax changes for farms.

Mr Ireland said it was already “counterproductive”, prompting clients to question investment decisions. Mr Clarkson said: “I think they didn’t understand it when they introduced it.”

He argued farms could not be treated like houses because heirs often cannot sell part without making the business less viable, and a buyer “doesn’t necessarily know how to farm”. Passing land to children made “perfect sense” for food supply, he added.

Labradors and lager

Mr Clarkson also took aim at Labour MP for Suffolk Coastal and Defra minister Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, who last week called the Britain of country pubs and black Labradors a “nostalgic” false memory.

He joked he was effectively a “socialist”, because he drinks lager and has two fox-red Labradors.

Appearing to mock the sparse attendance, Mr Clarkson joked that several delegates seemed to have “come dressed as seats”, a reference to the number of empty chairs visible around the hall.

Fewer rules

On the environment, Mr Clarkson said farmers could be trusted with the countryside if given “far fewer rules and regulations” and practical guidance.

Most wanted to protect their land to pass it on. “If you’re going to wreck the land, you won’t have anything to pass on,” he said, pointing to 42 farmland bird species recorded on a farm after a year of habitat work.

Mr Clarkson ended on an optimistic note, recalling the hot summers of 1976 and 1977, which he said were followed by a return to more normal weather patterns. “We’ve had two hot summers, so I’m just hoping that next year will be okay,” he said.