Farming Blog – by Kevin Prince

Harvest and Clarkson Approach

Whilst the majority of the country spent the majority of June concentrating on which politician was going to do what and therefore where best to place a cross on a piece of paper in early July, the arable farming community were anxiously following the weather forecast and hoping for the right mix of sunshine and rain at the correct time.

In late May & early June the winter crops are just “on the turn” and the countryside is looking, in my opinion, at its most attractive. The new growth on hedgerows and trees is still fresh and green and there seems to be a clarity in the air on early mornings which slowly disappears as we get deeper into summer. Everything seems clean and even the songbirds appear to have a renewed vigour. For arable farmers though, the following few weeks can be nail biting, because too little sun, too much rain, or an unlucky hail storm can spell disaster for a crop at this critical time.

Perhaps beautifully timed in order to distract arable farmers and to enable everyone else a respite from electioneering, was the release of the latest series of Clarkson’s Farm. I am saving up watching it for later in the year so am in no danger of providing any plot spoilers but it does seem to be almost universally praised for bringing the realities of farming into sharp focus. Yes, of course Mr Clarkson uses his persona and plays for comedic and dramatic effect at times, but there are many moments which highlight the ups and downs of working in the agricultural industry. One friend suggested that it should be compulsorily shown in schools as a countryside lesson and whilst that may be a little extreme, I do think it is an excellent example of how farming could be explained to those not involved in it.  It was reported in the farming press that one supermarket saw an increase in the sale of British produced bacon following one Clarkson’s Farm episode – if true then that is a clear indication of how powerful a simple insight into food production can be.

I attended the Oxfordshire Young Farmers Show and Rally and was heartened by the number of visitors and the effort and dedication of so many Young Farmers in entering the competitions and ensuring the day was a success. There were many traditional skills on show and it was a pleasure to see so many people under the age of 30 clearly intent on pursuing a life in the countryside and having a thoroughly enjoyable day out. It will be up to this next generation of farmers to cope with whatever the new government will throw at the industry and learn to live with the pressure of those nail biting weeks before Harvest.

And the biggest queue on the day was not for the ice cream van, nor for the hot dogs or even for the most delicious venison steaks – but was to say hello and shake hands with Kaleb from Clarkson’s Farm!

(Kevin Prince has wide experience of farming and rural business in Hampshire, where he lives near Andover, and across southern England, as a Director of Adkin . His family also run a diversified farm in Wales, with commercial lets, holiday cottages and 800 arable acres.)