Reply With QuoteAgree, absolutely brilliant and being a country lad and around farms fully sympathise with some of the hardships their having to endure year in year out
I finished it last night. Brilliant!
Agree, absolutely brilliant and being a country lad and around farms fully sympathise with some of the hardships their having to endure year in year out
We watched the programme last night regarding the planning application.
What a bunch of tossers and jumped up jobsworth the majority of the council board were.
But what over shone all of that was the incredible birth of the Heifers.
Genuinely heartwarming and very educational.
I never realised that such device to assist getting a calf out was available.
I haven't always agreed with his outbursts, but this series is brilliant.
Originally Posted by Topcat30093
Neither did I. I certainly wasn't aware of them 30 years ago when I had to wake up neighbours to help with a particularly large calf.
So why ask a question about Brexit in the G&D at all then?
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Because it is a sensible question about whether becoming a farmer has changed his opinion (it hasn’t as he was always pro EU). In this context, I don’t see it as a political question, just good background information.
Finished the series, and yes, it's brillaint TV.
Not sure the toilet facilities are entirely suitable
Only got to the end of ep 5 so don't know what happens after that, however the only reason that I can see for local councillors to vote against the restaurant is to protect the value of their houses and a desire to restore the quiet pre-Clarkson peace and quiet.
However if all of the local farms go bust, what happens then? The nicely manicured local farmland won't be nicely manicured any more.
I suspect Clarkson can afford to simply throw in the towel and go on to live comfortably, but that won't be the case for the neighbouring farmers
^^^^ Thanks ^^^^
Besides, when I post this in the BP right away, that could be read as if I don't 'trust' the members here to give a simple, non-political answer.
I think that I've read somewhere that he owns the farm for 15 yrs or so. I think he even mentioned it in S1, E1. And it has been a long-term project. Planning application for the lamb shed was asked back in 2019 with the idea of occasional filming (according to what has been said in one of episodes). Even back then it was received with a lot of suspicion.However if all of the local farms go bust, what happens then? The nicely manicured local farmland won't be nicely manicured any more.
I suspect Clarkson can afford to simply throw in the towel and go on to live comfortably, but that won't be the case for the neighbouring farmers
What I like is the fact that he and Charlie are looking for (new) ways to earn money. Pure entrepreneurship and he's testing the boundaries. Basically for other farmers who have the same problems but lack the funds to try it out. You can see that -apart from the t-shirts- he's capable of running a restaurant by using local products. In fact, what was a charade in S1 ("max ... miles radius for products in the shop") has become a cornerstone for his restaurant! He turns the poxy restrictive rule into a sign of quality! But that's not what the QC had in mind, of course!
And he runs into the same red tape, nimby attitude and pure indifference from the QC and some of his neighbours. And then happens what was written above: neglect of the land is next: why should he go any further?
What will happen then is what you can see in Germany and partly in the Netherlands: solar panel fields! The investment for the land owner is 0.0, he rents out the land to investors and gets a secured annual income for it. Higher than what the farmer can earn working the land (remember, he has no fuel costs for his machines etc). The investors are marching forward under the umbrella of 'green' and 'sustainability'. Both terms that will roll over any government. That looks even worse than un-manicured fields. At least the sky will stay dark at night... Death and destruction on the ground, the absense of wild life (deer, badgers, foxes cannot live surrounded by panels etc) and the fact that the soil will die (insects cannot live under solar panels) will change the whole countryside when farmers are pushed to choose the side of the solar panel maffia. Now, only big fields are financially interesting for investors. But the development of better panels and the development of batteries to store the power will change the whole landscape to the use of smaller pieces of land as well. But I guess that this is too far in the future for the QC.
They have a point regarding traffic and parking. As I've said before: I live in a Hamlet, I would be pissed when a few hundred cars ('Subaru owners', he calls them...) would be running up and down the small country roads in my hamlet. But there's a solution...
I haven't heard/seen anything about 'how are you going to solve that?' apart from using a field with gravel. The novelty of Didley Squad 'as is' will die down. So Clarkson has to move on (restaurant). But I haven't heard any good reason why it's on his farmland? It would be wiser to set up camp towards a bigger road, easier to reach and to park. Not on his own grounds, but apart from that muddy car park, that's all people will see/can of his farm!
Last edited by thieuster; 17th February 2023 at 12:49.
We finished Season 2 last night and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Will probably go back and watch the first season again I reckon.
It's just great TV and entertainment all round. And for us, the window into another world (farming) that I had little to no knowledge of is just fascinating. And despite his loveable rogue/doofus persona Clarkson is a very clever and shrewd media operator that knows how to give the viewing masses what they want to see and hear. But despite that I do believe he genuinely really cares for the farming community, the local people and has seen the experience as life affirming......and, as a by product, a new career trajectory too. It's also clear he has a fanastic team of people around him to make the program - Charlie/Lisa/Kaleb/Gerald/Dilwyn/Alan etc are just a delight to watch.
From the outside in I suspect his many planning and alteration issues are just down to some local people not liking him and/or wanting his plans to succeed as they see him as too divisive/rich and popular - ergo, it's the green eyed monster syndrome unfortunately.
Last edited by Gareth-W; 17th February 2023 at 13:09.
Behind the scenes at The Farm.
https://youtu.be/pGNO-9fP_D4
I agree with most of the comments that both series have been excellent and a real insight into a World I know little about. Great TV.
I really enjoyed that - there's a lot more mileage in the farming story, both locally at Diddly Squat and in the wider context, and I hope their efforts do something to improve the situation that most farmers, apparently, are in.
Just finished season 2, what a shame he seems to be up against a small minded council, the traffic cones and denying him the car park were poor decisions on their behalf.
Still at least he gets a win over them in one aspect at the end…
Another great season
It felt so much quicker though then S1. I guess maybe it was because the whole restaurant thing was the main focus.
And the cute cow that he failed to get pregnant
He could be arrested for trying!
Relaxing TV, loved it.
Anyone been to visit?
I'm glad he didn't slaughter Pepper..
Mmm, doesn't he get around 250k in government grants?
Green Welly farmers
He may have done but that amounts to sweet Fanny Adams in the whole scheme of things.
Have you actually watched it and listened to it ?
I think not.
Best thing in it is the Range Rover! Modern classic.
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I thought he said 80k but it’s all stopped now and the government have broken all of its promises to farmers, the government were also supposed to instruct them what to grow, at the time of filming they hadn’t. He also showed clips of Gove and co saying don’t worry.
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