Jeremy Clarkson admits he had never heard of Cereals as Diddly Squat prepares for this year’s event

Clarkson’s Farm stars unveil trial plots as they look forward to brining the show way out west

Broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson admitted every day spent farming was a ‘learning day’ as he and his Clarkson’s Farm co-stars launched the Cereals Crop Plot Day ahead of the arable event which is being held on Diddly Squat Farm in June.

The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire host along with farm manager Kaleb Cooper and agronomist ‘Cheerful’ Charlie Ireland said they were looking forward to hosting the show on the 400-hectare mixed farm which is set in rolling Cotswold countryside just outside Chipping Norton.

‘Who wants to look at root structure?’

A selection of demonstration plots and variety strips were also unveiled as Mr Clarkson admitted he had initially struggled to understand the event’s appeal for visitors.

He said: “I have got to be honest. I had never heard of it. I thought, could we have the boat show? That would be quite something. Or the motor show. Yeah, I would like that.

“I could not see why it was prestigious. I was thinking, so who is going to come all the way here to look at root structure?”

However, he said Mr Ireland and others had quickly put him right on the subject.

“Today, it is the first time I have been out and thought, actually, I find myself going, look at that oilseed rape and look at that. I am starting to understand it and I am genuinely and properly looking forward to it now.”

Mr Clarkson also said he hoped the trade-only event would help bring some much-needed positivity for farmers and to that end there will be a pop-up of his popular Farmer’s Dog pub.

A Diddly Squat donkey

While the trio joked about what was going on at Diddly Squat amid the arrival of chickens, herbs, rabbits and even a donkey, they also addressed key industry issues such as the ongoing Middle East crisis and the need for diversification.

Mr Clarkson said: “He [Kaleb] is very cross with me about how much we are doing this year. But for me every day is a learning day. Learning whether we farm rabbits or whether we get some popcorn. It is all learning stuff.”

Mr Ireland, who is also managing partner at Ceres Rural, said the reality of the war was going to be ‘keenly felt’ over the next 12 months.

“For a lot of arable farms the first impact has been the cost of fuel and we will certainly feel that over the summer. Uncertainty now is centred on supply [of fuel and fertiliser] more so now than in the past with Ukraine. This conflict has the potential to stop supply of gas which will have dire consequences.”

However, he also said there was ‘always opportunity’ and he advised visitors to walk around Cereals ‘with their eyes and ears open’ and to make the most of new products and techniques that could in some way mitigate today’s circumstances.

Inspiring the next generation

A new change for this year at the June 11-12 event is the introduction of livestock, which Mr Cooper and Mr Clarkson both welcomed. The trio also said they hoped the show would help spur on the next generation to get involved in farming and revealed how they encouraged Diddly Squat’s young team to actively get involved.

Mr Clarkson said: “We have the shop here and the kids work on a rotation – so they work here, then at the shop at the Farmers Dog and then in the market garden and that means when someone comes in and asks ‘Why are you charging £4.50 for this or that’, they can actually say, ‘Because I was on my hands and knees throughout spring actually planting it’.

“They are actually learning about how things grow and I think that is one of the most important things.”

Mr Cooper added: “I get asked all the time, ‘Do you think there’s a future in farming?’ I do not know the answer to that, but what I do know is that we need a farmer three times a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. So therefore, there is going to be a future one way or another.”