Jeremy Clarkson has told Times Radio he has been forced to close Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire for two months.
The Top Gear and Grand Tour star originally purchased the Chadlington-based farm back in 2008.
It has since been the focus of four series of the Prime Video hit show Clarkson’s Farm, but the 65-year-old had bad news to share with his fans on Thursday afternoon (July 31).
Announcing that a case of Tuberculosis (TB) had broken out, Mr Clarkson said on X: “Bad news from Diddly Squat.
“We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.”
He then added later on in the afternoon: “I should clear this up, really. It’s Bovine TB that we have.
“It doesn’t affect people, just our poor cows.”
Mr Clarkson later said in an interview with Times Radio that Diddly Squat Farm “will be closed for two months” as a result of the outbreak. The shop remains open.
Speaking to Peter Cardwell on Times Radio, Mr Clarkson said: “It’s awful, it is awful.
“You have a test every six months on the cows, and then you sort of become blasé. It’s a hypothetical threat.
“And then the vet looks up as he did yesterday lunchtime and said, ‘I’m really sorry this one’s failed’.
“So that means we’re now locked down and it’s just dreadful, absolutely dreadful.
“Well, it was occupying my mind, but I got up this morning and found one of my puppies has died. And we’ve got a very sickly calf. Honestly, farming? I’m not enjoying it this week.”
When asked on whether the farm would be closed, Mr Clarkson said: “Certainly two months because that’s how long we have to wait before we do another test.”
Mr Clarkson added that the Diddly Squat Farm Shop is unaffected as it is only the cows on the farm that are affected by the outbreak.
Mr Clarkson later appeared to contradict his own words in the interview with Times Radio on Friday morning by saying the farm “is not shut”.
“We just can’t buy or sell any cows,” he added.
The Government said in June it will not be extending the badger cull and retains its commitment to end the practice before the next election.
Oxfordshire is an “edge area” for bovine TB, meaning it is a buffer zone between high risk and low risk areas – so most herds are subject to six monthly TB tests by default.
There have been several cases in the area of Oxfordshire near to Diddly Squat Farm in recent weeks, according to ibTB, a mapping platform for the disease in England and Wales.
