Jeremy Clarkson took over Diddly Squat Farm in 2019 after the previous tenant retired, capturing his pivot into farming on the hugely popular Clarkson’s Farm
Jeremy Clarkson says Kaleb Cooper “took it like a man” after being given a “b********g” on Diddly Squat Farm. The former Top Gear presenter bought the thousand-acre Oxfordshire farm in 2008.
It was operated by a tenant, but since 2019 the television presenter has been farming the land himself, capturing his efforts at running the site on the award-winning Clarkson’s Farm series. The Amazon Prime hit has followed Jeremy, as well as girlfriend Lisa Hogan, as they set up the farm, shop, and even a nearby pub.
Viewers have also become enamoured with popular farmhand Kaleb Cooper. The 27-year-old’s experience in the farming world proved vital for novice Jeremy.
Although Jeremy admits Kaleb recently received a dressing down from bird expert Hannah Bourne-Taylor. Jeremy says he brought in local parish councillor Hannah to help keep track of the number of birds at his farm, and to help improve the area for them.
Jeremy says he made wildflower strips in the middle of his fields and planted bird-friendly flowers around his farm. But noticed his neighbours could “afford to do even more than that”.
When he quizzed Kaleb as to whether they could be doing more at Diddly Squat, Jeremy says he bluntly responded “no”. Jeremy says “matters came to a head” between Hannah and Kaleb when the farm hand was cutting one of his fields.
Writing in the Sunday Times Magazine, Jeremy said: “Matters came to a head when Hannah arrived one day in early June to find Kaleb cutting the grass fields so that he would have some hay to feed our cows this winter.
“She was distraught. ’He’s mincing all the baby skylarks. They’re in their nests in this field and they’re too young to fly off’
“Kaleb took his b*****ing like a man, but said that if he’d waited until the skylarks were old enough to get out of his tractor’s way, the grass would have been useless. I insisted he did wait in the next field along, and guess what? He was right. It was. Next spring our cows are going to look like they’ve been on Mounjaro.”
Jeremy says the weather also hampered his chances to make his farm more bird friendly. He says the “things with Latin names” that he planted around his borders didn’t grow properly due to drought.
The former Grand Tour presenter revealed he also made more ponds around Diddly Squat because “birds don’t like to travel”.
He recalled spotting yellowhammer living in a hedge on the farm, but says he has “never seen them go even as far as 100m from it”.
“I’m definitely going to make them a pond,” the star added.
