A seven-year-old farming enthusiast was left “over the moon” after he met his agricultural idol Kaleb Cooper.
Little Archie Morris, who lives with his parents, siblings and 17 chickens in Cressing, has become internet famous for his dream of becoming a full-time farmer and owning his own land.
After lots of support for his ‘Archie’s Veg and Eggs’ business, his ever-growing chicken enterprise reached the ears of celebrity farmer Kaleb Cooper, Jeremy Clarkson’s right-hand man at his Cotswolds farm.
Before finding world-wide fame in the hit Amazon Prime series, Clarkson’s Farm, Kaleb started out just like Archie by selling the eggs of his chickens and working on farms from the age of 12. He’s Archie’s biggest inspiration.
On Friday, Archie travelled to the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend for ‘An Evening with Kaleb Cooper’, to enjoy hilarious anecdotes from the 27-year-old’s years of farming and plenty of surprises.
And he was delighted to find Kaleb had already heard of him.
Archie’s mum Jodie Morris, 31, said: “Kaleb actually spoke to Archie during the show.
“During the Q&A, Archie had written down the question, ‘What should I learn now, to be a great farmer when I’m older?’
“Kaleb said, ‘Wait… is this Archie from Facebook? With like 70 chickens?!’ It made Archie beam ear to ear that Kaleb knew of him.
“He asked Archie to stand up so he could see him, so he stood on his chair, and had a great chat over the auditorium with Kaleb.”
Jodie said the audience “melted” as Archie shared his dream of owning his own land, which is exactly what the Cotswold celebrity farmer is working toward himself.
Kaleb answered his question with agricultural wisdom and said he could try to sell some duck eggs for even more money than chicken eggs.
“Kaleb’s advice to Archie was, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, you are amazing and will absolutely reach your dream if you keep working hard’,” Jodie said.
After the show, Kaleb met Archie and gave him a big hug and told him how proud he was of everything he’s doing on his farm, which left Archie “over the moon”.
In the days since, other audience members searched for Archie’s Facebook page and sent him many messages of support, calling him “inspirational”.
The seven-year-old farmer currently owns almost 70 chickens, a huge increase from the original five he started with last year – named Popcorn, Hay Hay, Dora the Eggs-plorer, Optim-egg Prime, and Nugget.
Archie has inspired neighbours, teachers, and local business owners alike and visits his nearby plot of land every day after school to collect eggs, water the 47 chickens there – with many of them being rescued ex-commercial hens – and clean their coop.
Archie is a big fan of Clarkson’s Farm, with his favourite farming mishap being when former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson got zapped by an electric fence.
Kaleb is the perfect example for Archie that dreams do come true, and even said he would absolutely love to visit Archie’s ever-growing farm in Cressing.
Jodie said: “Archie says Kaleb and Jeremy remind him so much of himself and his dad, with Archie showing him the way when it goes wrong.
“Kaleb is his biggest inspiration. Their hopes and dreams are incredibly similar.
“Kaleb’s dream is still to one day buy his own farm, just like Archie’s.
“Kaleb told us that the unexpected journey has been just as incredible, and he’s loving every moment – exactly how Archie is now, and I’m sure will continue to do.”
