Clarkson vs the NFU

[Goweresque]

Jeremy Clarkson reveals 'heartache' filming farming TV series

The Grand Tour star is swapping cars for tractors as he embarks on his first solo TV show for Amazon.

www.bbc.co.uk

Which will have the greater pro-farming impact on the UK public, the NFU (or indeed CLA et al) and all its efforts or Jeremy Clarkson making one program about what farming is really like?

Discuss.

 

[Hilly]

Clarkson no doubt .

 

[Wooly]

NF who !?!

Clarkson..........Lets hope he gets on the RT anti bandwagon as well

 

[Treemover]

I have been saying this for years, agriculture just needs a good spokesperson. Jeremy has a great way of telling stories.

 

[delilah]

Well it's Hobson's choice, but the NFU.
Anyone who thinks that having a petrolhead who takes the p!ss out of the environment movement and throws money around like water on his toy farm is in any way a good ambassador for UK ag needs to give their head a wobble.

 

[7610 super q]

The NFU are are disgrace and an embarrassment.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I am looking forward to watching it, too many of the shows on TV that show farming are all about the public vicariously playing Marie Antionette as "milk maid", with as he says 15 sheep kept in luxury conditions (this farming life was an exception, as is my Yorkshire farm)

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Well it's Hobson's choice, but the NFU.
Anyone who thinks that having a petrolhead who takes the p!ss out of the environment movement and throws money around like water on his toy farm is in any way a good ambassador for UK ag needs to give their head a wobble.

How do we know he will be doing either on this new show?

 

[robbie]

Clarkson definitely.
I watched a 15 minute interview Q and A session he did to promote his show and he comes across very well and talks a lot of sense.
He makes no secret of the fact his rape failed, his sheep flock has made no money and it cost more to shear them than the value of the fleece or his efforts to grow veg for the farm shop failed miserably.

He is honest in the fact he's not very good at it but also that it's a lot of work for very little return.

He will do more good in getting real ag across to the general public than the NFU et al ever will and he will show farming in a true warts and all way that country file could ever do.

He is probably just the thing UK ag needs, the Tom Bradshaw's ect are ok but don't appeal to the masses like Clarkson.

Fingers crossed someone can have a word with him and get him to join in and tear RT to pieces.

 

[Wooly]

Jeremy Clarkson reveals 'heartache' filming farming TV series

The Grand Tour star is swapping cars for tractors as he embarks on his first solo TV show for Amazon.

www.bbc.co.uk

Good piece to start the ball rolling

and on you tube

 

[Hjcarter]

Whilst I've not seen it, i imagine Clarkson is making a TV program to entertain and sell TV advertising and subscriptions rather than a documentary.

To do that will require "entertaining" things to happen - tractors stuck/ broken, ranting and bawling when stuff goes wrong, frustration with the job - all played up for the cameras and edited to keep the masses watching through to the ad break to be told about healthy food products grown in a factory.

Now i haven't seen it and i hope I'm wrong but I fear that at best it will just be more TV soup for the dullards, at worst people will think that it represents real life and we spend all our working hours doing stupid things and farmers are the masters of the demise of British farming.

 

[Hilly]

Say what you want about Clarkson , but the Nfu have lots of chances to promote agg help
Farmers they do sweet fanny Adam’s for the ordinary farmer and some even pay them for Fuk all at least Clarkson isn’t asking the farmer for money .

 

[digger64]

Well it's Hobson's choice, but the NFU.
Anyone who thinks that having a petrolhead who takes the p!ss out of the environment movement and throws money around like water on his toy farm is in any way a good ambassador for UK ag needs to give their head a wobble.

are you sure about the money comment ?

 

[puppet]

Having reached his Sunday Times articles I think it will come over well. Of course it has to be entertaining as who is going to watch me ploughing a field for 45 minutes. Hopefully will show that we are not a load of thick peasants with grubby hands.

 

[Bald Rick]

Well it's Hobson's choice, but the NFU.
Anyone who thinks that having a petrolhead who takes the p!ss out of the environment movement and throws money around like water on his toy farm is in any way a good ambassador for UK ag needs to give their head a wobble.

Long article in today’s Sunday Times magazine.

If I may quote this section:

“The best thing government could do for farmers is to close down the section of Defra that deals with agriculture. British farmers, by & large, are extremely good at farming and very environmentally conscious .... so frankly I’d shut down the agricultural dept, let farmers get on with it and tell supermarkets they can only sell what’s in season and what was grown locally (U.K.). Then you’ve pretty much at a stroke solved everything.
Everyone would be healthier, the soil will be healthier, the planet will be healthier and we’d save a fortune in civil servants.”

Think that matches your thinking @delilah ?

Oh, and our of his 1000ac, he has 200 devoted to wild meadows and strips within his arable fields.

Let’s give him a chance

 

[Sid]

So Clarkson comes on TV a moan and groans about how hard done by he is being a farmer......but if the NFU make one comment about an issue in farming,drought, bad season etc, they get tarred with "all they ever do is complain"

Good news doesn't make good news, bad news makes good news.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Long article in today’s Sunday Times magazine.

If I may quote this section:

“The best thing government could do for farmers is to close down the section of Defra that deals with agriculture. British farmers, by & large, are extremely good at farming and very environmentally conscious .... so frankly I’d shut down the agricultural dept, let farmers get on with it and tell supermarkets they can only sell what’s in season and what was grown locally (U.K.). Then you’ve pretty much at a stroke solved everything.
Everyone would be healthier, the soil will be healthier, the planet will be healthier and we’d save a fortune in civil servants.”

Think that matches your thinking @delilah ?

Oh, and our of his 1000ac, he has 200 devoted to wild meadows and strips within his arable fields.

Let’s give him a chance

if he said he were never going to fly again, well that would be 99.05% better for the planet than wild flower strips and using a direct drill .

 

[melted welly]

Well it's Hobson's choice, but the NFU.
Anyone who thinks that having a petrolhead who takes the p!ss out of the environment movement and throws money around like water on his toy farm is in any way a good ambassador for UK ag needs to give their head a wobble.

think you’re doing the chap a disservice.

He’s having a go, he’s put his money in and is having a go at making it work. There’s plenty landowners who wont set foot on their properties, just watch the cheques come in, he could’ve done that, but he seems genuinely interested in making it work and trying to do it himself.

there’s 2 sides of Clarkson, the gobby fast driving entertainer, (which I think is a bit of an act) has got him where he is on the telly, but I hope he comes at this with his dry sense of humour, and blunt honesty.

if nothing else, a spade will be called a spade, there’ll be no soft focus shots of agas and shivery lambs getting a cuddle.

 

[Wombat]

I would say Clarkson,

 

[M-J-G]

I have been saying this for years, agriculture just needs a good spokesperson. Jeremy has a great way of telling stories.

I hope you're correct
I don't particularly like the man, but happy to change my opinion and I hope he does a good job and I will give him credit if he puts a good point across to the general public.
Which is not to be confused with making a programme that pleases farmers.

I've read good articles he's written, including one on a ban on shooting pigeons leading to an increase on deforestation in South America, which was a tale of nimbys and the consequences of their stupid ideologies.

He may be the man for it, time will tell.