Forget Countryfile, I am watching the brilliant Clarkson’s Farm - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Janet Berry, Hambleton.
Jeremy Clarkson outside his Diddly Squat Farm Shop in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Picture: Tom Wren/SWNS.Jeremy Clarkson outside his Diddly Squat Farm Shop in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Picture: Tom Wren/SWNS.
Jeremy Clarkson outside his Diddly Squat Farm Shop in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Picture: Tom Wren/SWNS.

FORGET Countryfile, I am watching the brilliant Clarkson’s Farm.

Never has a programme depicted how difficult it is to farm – and especially when someone like Jeremy, an absolute novice, copes with it.

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He goes from one disaster to another and has to rely on experts all the time as he romps through huge learning curves from disaster to absolute delight.

Jeremy is so dependant on other locals, such as a local stonewall builder – what a character but you cannot understand a word he says.

He is dependant on a local farmer, Kaleb, who cannot understand how little Jeremy knows or understands farming. He is quite hard on him and does not mince his words.

Quite refreshing to see Jeremy doing as he is told and listening to a 21-year-old.

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Quite endearing as he quickly becomes attached to his sheep.

Very amusing and self-deprecating. Superb programme, entertaining and informative. Do watch it. Am loving it.

From: Dorothy Fairburn, director, CLA North.

WE are behind the Government’s aims and ambitions to protect and enhance the natural environment and the biodiversity that underpins it. Farmers and landowners in the Yorkshire Wolds are responsible for creating the wonderful landscape we now see (The Yorkshire Post, June 24).

But the lack of detail raises more questions than answers on how these ambitions will be achieved. Our main concern is how the Government’s commitment to designate additional protected landscapes will be taken forward. This should not be to randomly satisfy a target, but done for the right reasons to protect our finest landscapes.

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These proposals must be subject to a robust consultation process which will include the views of farmers and landowners who are to be affected by any potential designation.

Across the country we have evidence that designation stifles economic growth, hampering rural businesses from re-investing in their communities to offer affordable houses and create new jobs. Planning rules often lead to one sector, such as tourism, becoming dominant which makes local economies and communities far more vulnerable to shocks like Covid-19.

The rural economy is 18 per cent less productive than the national average, and this will only increase if the designation system isn’t reformed to ensure a commitment to economic resilience and sustainable communities.