Jeremy Clarkson’s farming programme has had an unexpected impact on education, with an increasing number of young people showing interest in agricultural degree courses
Since the first season of Jeremy Clarkson’s farming programme Clarkson’s Farmaired on Amazon Prime in 2021, there has been a spike in interest in farming.
This surge has seen people take a greater interest in the lives of farmers, what they do, and the issues affecting them.
What’s more, farmers have felt emboldened to take to the streets to express their displeasure, with the backing of the 65-year-old former Top Gear presenter there to support them.
However, the interest generated in farming by Clarkson’s Farm is not just being felt on the streets but at universities too, as agricultural colleges report a rise in applicants—a phenomenon they believe is linked to Jeremy’s programme.
Speaking to The Times about the increase in applications to courses at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU), Daniella Miles commented on the rise in interest in their rural land management programmes.
They said: “It’s looking like programmes like Clarkson’s Farm are having an effect. It seems to be spreading much further than ‘I can do farming,’ as it’s an interest in all the other courses and roles involved in farming that is increasing as well.
People look at what Cheerful Charlie does and become interested, as well as seeing Clarkson have Andy Cato on his farm as a consultant—and we’ve had him speaking here at RAU.”
Daniella’s reference to Andy Cato—one half of the DJ duo Groove Armada—is a testament to the growing ‘coolness’ of farming. Andy, a regenerative farming advocate, has openly said he is trying to make farming cool because, if it is, then more people will choose it as a career.
Andy told the BBC that part of his motivation for getting into farming was to give himself a sense of agency and the belief that he can help fix some of society’s problems.
He told the broadcaster: “We need to live in a world where farming and food is cool and aspirational. There are a lot of days when I think I’m just going to play records on the beach in Ibiza—someone else can sort this out.
What keeps me going is that we have a solution here to so many of the existing problems that we face—from health to climate to biodiversity. Once you’ve seen its potential, you can’t really walk away from it.”
Whilst Andy has been speaking about how to get young people into farming, Jeremy has been sympathising with them, lamenting how hard life is for the younger generation and admitting that he now understands why they’re so upset with society.
Writing in The Times, he conceded: “In a recent moment of quiet reflection I started to wonder if, actually, we shouldn’t feel sorry for them.
“What’s the point of being a wage slave when it means you literally have no life at all?… They were forced to live this way and it’s not what they want.”
