YouTube and TikTok star Joe Seels has shared his thoughts on Jeremy Clarkson’s influence on the world of farming, following the success of Clarkson’s Farm
Farmer Joe Seels has shared an insight into the impact Jeremy Clarkson has had on the world of farming, following the huge success of his Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm.
Jeremy – who is famous for presenting TV shows such as Top Gear – runs Diddly Squat Farm in Chipping Norton and has documented his farming journey in the reality TV series, which has now been running for four seasons.
The TV show has proven to be hugely popular and sparked an interest in farming, with Jeremy’s co-stars, including Kaleb Cooper, becoming stars in their own right.
There’s also been a rise in farmers sharing content on social media, with the likes of Joe becoming hugely popular on sites such as TikTok and YouTube.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Monday (21 July), Joe opened up about his journey and the influence he thinks Clarkson’s Farm has had on the farming industry.
Speaking about Jeremy, Joe told BBC hosts Jon Kay and Sally Nugent: “He’s really just showing it to the public, the struggles. I don’t think people like myself, who have got YouTube channels, and there’s quite a few of us now showing what we do on the farm, I don’t think we’d have that same platform without that interest that Clarkson’s sparked.”
Joe also unveiled his personal connection to Jeremy, revealing the TV star knows Joe’s family. He added: “He’s quite funny, because Clarkson, he is a ‘local lad’ to us. So, where my great uncle farms is where Clarkson was brought up.”
The farmer went on to say that farming content being shared on social media and the popularity of Clarkson’s Farm has seen a rise in interest in agriculture careers, branding the reaction “rewarding”.
However, Joe very nearly didn’t venture into farming after a stern warning from his parents during his younger years. He revealed that he went to university after his parents urged him to find a career away from the farm.
“Back in the day, my mum and dad said ‘Don’t go into farming Joe, there’s no money in it’. So I took a degree, went and did Geography at Hull. I got onto a graduate scheme and I did do a couple of years there, then I thought this is just not for me. I want to be out in the tractor, I want to be out with the cattle. I just longed to get back to the farm,” Joe told Jon and Sally.
Joe’s social media journey kicked off with him creating a TikTok account after one of his friends began posting on the app, however he had no intention of becoming an online star.
“I wanted to do it anonymously, so I started posting some videos of what we were doing on the farm and really enjoyed doing it,” Joe explained. “People started watching, so I didn’t stay anonymous for very long. Stupidly, I called it ‘Joe Seel’, so I couldn’t really get under the shadow of anonymity!”
