Television Clarkson's Farm

Cascarino said:
Not far off, I’m actually a builder (and wannabe coach) but I was born and raised on a working farm, and even after I’d moved away I have to come back often when they needed more hands on deck (and still do a lot of farming work). I don’t doubt he’s learned a lot and that he is earnest about it all, but there is a big difference between relying on it as your main source of financial contribution and your livelihood, and doing it in front of cameras with a lot of help.

I am glad that he’s highlighted the shit deal a lot of farmers get though (at least from a few quotes I’ve seen knocking about). My grandparents struggled massively and the hours were painful.

I get what you’re saying here, I’m going to give it a go as I am a fan of watching farm shit, sad as it is, and I’ll keep an open mind.

It’s pretty funny you typed that, yet he’s been very open about having nothing to do with the farm until this series.
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His farm made
144 quid
the first year despite having spent a lot of cash and having lost a shitload on sheep, but although he didn't explicitly say he'd carry on, he will be doing so I think. It was a shit year crops wise even without Covid apparently. Before anyone jumps to say Amazon paid or whatever, I dunno. But the failures were real as were his reactions, or at least they seemed so (he's still a tory though, so pinches of salt and so on).
 
Watched the first 2 episodes and it’s a decent watch. Fortunately I don’t have devout opinions about Clarkson so can watch it without raging or cheerleading
 
Just brilliant. Fantastic performances all around. Sulked for 10 minutes when my fav character Shaun the sheep died, but it was his own fault for thinking Clarkson truly loved him.

I want to see Richard Hammond slaughter some baboons next. Bare knuckle.
 
I’m three episodes in and absolutely loving it so far. I almost feel like I’m learning on the job from the Clarkson.

Gerald is hilarious, Kaleb is great too.

A question I have though. They keep saying his tractor is too big, so what exactly is a tractor like that for, since all the experts on the show seem convinced it isn’t suitable even for a massive farm like that?
 
I like him in his newspaper columns and books.

I might not like him in real life but that doesn't matter.
 
JamesB__ said:
I’m three episodes in and absolutely loving it so far. I almost feel like I’m learning on the job from the Clarkson.

Gerald is hilarious, Kaleb is great too.

A question I have though. They keep saying his tractor is too big, so what exactly is a tractor like that for, since all the experts on the show seem convinced it isn’t suitable even for a massive farm like that?
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I can barely make out a word Gerald says.
 
JamesB__ said:
I’m three episodes in and absolutely loving it so far. I almost feel like I’m learning on the job from the Clarkson.

Gerald is hilarious, Kaleb is great too.

A question I have though. They keep saying his tractor is too big, so what exactly is a tractor like that for, since all the experts on the show seem convinced it isn’t suitable even for a massive farm like that?
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Machinery gets bigger to do more work, so tractors need more power to operate them, and more power equals more weight, and heavier tractors need bigger wheels, and so on. Everything gets bigger.

In the UK a lot of big farms have been made by buying up lots of small farms, so the fields and lanes and gates and buildings etc are still small. The farm around where I'm from just ripped out all their gates and replaced them with ones twice the size to get the tractors in and out more easily.
 
11101 said:
Machinery gets bigger to do more work, so tractors need more power to operate them, and more power equals more weight, and heavier tractors need bigger wheels, and so on. Everything gets bigger.

In the UK a lot of big farms have been made by buying up lots of small farms, so the fields and lanes and gates and buildings etc are still small. The farm around where I'm from just ripped out all their gates and replaced them with ones twice the size to get the tractors in and out more easily.
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There is also a tendency that you use bigger machinery in flatter areas than the Cotswolds. Operating on hills can become a bit difficult with very big machinery (you simply can't use a flat 13m wide tool when the ground is curved, you either miss a lot of plants/ground, or you ram into it). As he said the tractor is from Germany it probably was running on the North German Plain before he bought it, that's were those things fit (on the small farms in the western part of Germany, the really big farms in North-East Germany would consider that Lamborghini a toy and not useful for doing the real work).

So he has got a tractor he can not fully utilize because he can not use the machinery needed to do that @JamesB__
 
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Just watched the first episode because of this thread. Absolutely loved it :lol:
 
Drawfull said:
Funny, somewhat educational and well-filmed. Appreciate Clarkson is Marmite, but he's good in this.
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Without exception, Anyone that’s ever been described as being ‘Like Marmite’ is normally a Cnut that only basic people like. The phrase is a huge red flag if someone describes themselves with it. Run.

Watched about 10 minutes of this after reading the Guardian review. It’s every bit as bad as they suggest.
 
One of my fantasies is to own and live on a farm. Look forward to watching this.
 
I felt really bad for those three sheep. Jeremy looked genuinely gutted about it.

Sheep seem lovely animals
 
Vidic_In_Moscow said:
One of my fantasies is to own and live on a farm. Look forward to watching this.
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Unless you want a big one to actually make money, that's a pretty achievable dream. I can probably hook you up with a small one, but you'd have to move to a Norwegian countryside. Cheaper than a (Norwegian) house.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Haven’t watched the show but I have read a few of his ST articles about the farm and he understands nature/modern farming a hell of a lot better than most people. Top Gear (or whatever the feck the Amazon spin off is called) crawled up its own arse years ago but this could be worth a watch.
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I didn't mind Top Gear at all most of the time but this sounds cringeworthy. Clarkson acts a buffoon on a farm.

lsd said:
Clarkson has owned a farm for the past 8 years and has been very successful at it as anyone who paid any attention to him instead of just frothing at the mouth in disgust would know
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I'm not frothing anywhere and I don't care either way if he makes this TV show but he didn't actually run the farm though did he? He had someone doing that and that person's retirement resulted in this TV show.
 
fergieisold said:
Such a nice lad - needs his own spin off tv show. Couldn't stop laughing when clarksons panicking about getting covid because of his health and Caleb just says "yeh...there's not a lotta hope":lol:
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I would watch it for sure :lol:

I live on the outskirts of the Cotswolds and used to work on sites around that area a lot and he just sums up the locals perfectly, unfortunately they’re being priced out of the area
 
Snowjoe said:
I would watch it for sure :lol:

I live on the outskirts of the Cotswolds and used to work on sites around that area a lot and he just sums up the locals perfectly, unfortunately they’re being priced out of the area
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That's a shame, there's a lot to be said for that way of life isolated from the 'real' world. I've got some friends in deepest darkest Cornwall and they're so happy in their own little village...they've not a clue what's going on in the rest of the world...seems like a happy way to live!
 
Finished it and thoroughly enjoyed it. The difference a year can make, the previous season one brought them £90, 000 extra to then only getting £144 is insane. I wonder what they're on track for this year? It's that that makes it great, I actually want to see how it's going now.
 
I almost died when Clarkson pulled out his phone to google something.
 
This show is so great. Shows him in a more natural light and some scenes shows how much he genuinely cares about the farm.
 
Norris said:
This show is so great. Shows him in a more natural light and some scenes shows how much he genuinely cares about the farm.
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Yeah, I’m actually warming to him a bit. I think it’s good he’s not with Hammond and May. Top gear had lost its way and gone too extreme and he ended up almost a caricature of himself.

Whatever, it’s a great show with some genuinely touching moments.
 
Gambit said:
Finished it and thoroughly enjoyed it. The difference a year can make, the previous season one brought them £90, 000 extra to then only getting £144 is insane. I wonder what they're on track for this year? It's that that makes it great, I actually want to see how it's going now.
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He’s been writing a weekly column in the Sunday Times about his farm for a while now. Go out and get a copy today for the latest update!
 
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