The Unlikely Farmers’ Advocate – Jeremy Clarkson
Written By Nikki Alvin-Smith – Photos by James Smith
Unless you are a farmer that’s been spending too many hours out alone on the tractor with nothing to do but listen to the hum of the tractor engine and suffer endless poor quality radio blasts, you will have heard of the uniquely wonderful though unlikely farmers’ advocate, Jeremy Clarkson.
Though I live and farm on a south-facing mountain in Upstate New York and don’t live in Clarkson’s bucolic landscape in the U.K. (though England is admittedly my motherland), I was more than a bit pleased to discover that Clarkson’s sincere and heartfelt activities to highlight the issues that all farmers face and attempt to bring solutions was having an impact on farmers here - in the U.S.A.
One of many examples came during a recent pre-hay season visit to my local New Holland tractor dealer for hydraulic filters. The owner of the dealership told me his adult sons who run his dealership and farm alongside him, regularly watch and enjoyed Jeremy Clarkson’s show. Clarkson’s efforts to advocate for farmers are definitely paying off. And while I’m sure he is well aware of how deep his fan base goes, I hope that he realizes that he really has made a difference on so many levels to so many people in a positive way.
The issues that farmers face while trying to keep our nations fed and their own families taken care of is extensive and the parallels between nations and their regulations, dealing with Mother Nature and climate change and managing the challenges of a farming lifestyle translate across languages and countries borders.
Over an hour later I left the dealership after a good chat and a sharing of the ups and downs that affect us all – a conversation inspired in great part by our love of the show and it felt good to feel a part of a greater community ethic.
The ever-changing and onerous government regulations that include inheritance taxation, labor laws and eco-friendly/wildlife management, plus global supply issues and tariffs, fertilizer costs, abysmal milk prices and the list goes on – are tough to navigate. Not the least important to mention is the high suicide rate among farmers and the declining (not surprisingly) number of people entering the farming lifestyle. And yes, it truly is a lifestyle, not just a job.
The Clarkson’s Farm show (find it on Amazon Prime TV, Season 4 is currently dropping and is brilliant), is one on a long list of hit TV programs that Clarkson has championed. From his earliest days on Top Gear, I was hooked on his irreverent humor and big personality. A Yorkshire man with a big heart, Clarkson tells it how it is and his intelligent wit cracks you up. Even when he is discussing something as technical and less interesting to me as the workings of a Ferrari engine or is engaged in a highly emotional and very serious topic over a pint of his Hawkstone brew with fellow farmers, there is always present his unique story-telling talent and expressive looks and he keeps you thoroughly engaged.
He surrounds himself with a host of colorful characters and like-minded witty individuals – these include of course his beautiful life partner Lisa Hogan, who digs in and brings her fabulous Irish ‘can do’ attitude and dry wit to the show and is a huge part of it. Us girls like to see other girls in action doing farming work. We are the modern-day land girls. And the latest female edition Harriet is a stellar addition to the cast.
As many of you know, I am a professional writer and published author (I so wanted to leave Lisa a copy of my recent book The Dutchess of Chadwick on the piano at the Farmer’s Dog pub but didn’t quite dare) as well as Editor of this community resource magazine Catskill Horse and I often write and expound about the farmers’ lot and the support we need to give them.
While our small farm has produced organically grown and harvested horse hay here in Stamford, NY, for over twenty years and I have a family history in rural Buckinghamshire in farming, it is the larger family farms that surround our bucolic valley here in the Catskill Mountains that tell the bigger picture of running a farm. These hard-working families take on the difficult tasks of dealing with Mother Nature and Father Government and show us all how challenging a lifestyle farming is on a daily basis.
Clarkson leverages his huge following across multiple media platforms to spark interest in what he knows will be not just an interesting topic but a hot topic. And his team and his direction for marketing and publicizing the facts of the case offer an impressive array of talent and creative ideas on how to bring attention to your cause and/or your business. Whatever that happens to be. In Clarkson’s case farming and his newest entity, The Farmer’s Dog pub.
I have been writing professionally as a marketing content producer for a few decades now and so delving a bit deeper into just how the Clarkson empire and thought leadership brand meets the dirt offered a great research opportunity as a writer as well as offering an entertaining experience. Hence my recent visit The Farmer’s Dog pub in Burford, UK, during our recent sojourn home to visit my 91-year-old Mum who still lives in England. And it did not disappoint.
Whether you farm and seek a means of bringing your produce from farm to fork, want an insight into what makes the Clarkson brand unique or simply desire an opportunity to see firsthand what goes on in Oxfordshire that the Amazon show showcases or like me, all three appeal – the trip and the dining experience is well worth the visit. It’s not that Clarkson needs our monetary support, but support for his inventive ideas such as the Farmer’s Clubhouse social aspect and efforts to raise awareness and find solutions for better agricultural practices hits home is of great concern to many of us. And if you are in the restaurant business, you can certainly learn a great deal from his pub and how it operates and how it conveys the marketing messages in a humorous and clever manner.
Getting It Right
Parking and village traffic issues that plagued the Diddly Squat Farm and the many other interfering actions of the regional council were effective in squashing the ideas of a farm to fork restaurant at that location. Clarkson learned from the experience and his selection of what was The Windmill pub right on the main Oxford road, the A40, was definitely a good plan.
As we (Catskill Horse magazine publisher, myself and one of our contributing writers and also our contributing photographer and erstwhile Sales Manager) were driving from east to west on the A40 we missed the first turning for the entrance and drove around the block.
This was a typically narrow Oxfordshire farm road behind the property. So naturally we met oncoming traffic in the form of a tractor as we navigated passed Waze ideas of the pub’s location – and disappointingly it wasn’t Caleb, Jeremy or Lisa at the wheel. But we really didn’t expect that – Diddly Squat Farm is not next door.
We pulled into the property and drove through a gap in the wall to park on a grass lot. As it was a Tuesday mid-afternoon and there were no events on tap, we were not pressed for parking space for our rental car. Which made a lovely change versus our other experiences to date on this trip, where parking everywhere was worse than we’ve ever experienced it.
Our restaurant booking allowed us plenty of time to select a Hawkstone brew and enjoy a sunny afternoon on the terrace before heading in to dine. Everywhere you looked there were fun reminders of just where you were, and that you were experiencing what you had seen on TV firsthand, and the storyline that had led you here.
One of my other favorites of my top three TV gentlemen, all of which I loved from their very 1st TV shows seeing their good natures and talents behind their TV personalities is Anthony Bourdain. I was thrilled to see a quote from Anthony Bourdain on the blackboard in the dining room. I took the opportunity to get a photo taken of myself and one of our contributing writers here at Catskill Horse, Bethany Videto. A great start to the experience as we wandered off to the terrace after selecting our beverages from the bar.
The Farmer’s Clubhouse wasn’t open yet, so we had a look around and enjoyed all the little touches that we found at every turn. The souvenir beer mats announced that you should leave Jeremy’s beer glasses and not to take one home however tempting that would be, and that he was ‘watching you’ with a note to be good.
The blackboard note that you were eating the cast with a note, ‘Not Pepper,’ was one of many inside jokes that viewers and fans of the Clarkson Farm show would appreciate.
Our photographer James did just that. Scoring one of the last three steaks available at the dinner table when the super-efficient and friendly waitress mentioned their diminishing numbers.
Incidentally, during our UK trip we found at nearly every restaurant a ‘cancel culture menu’ where much of what was offered was simply nixed after your ordered it with no explanation even when you dined early in the service. Something we had never experienced so widely before. It was very odd.
The food across the board at our table was excellent. As vegetarians Bethany and I opted for the Halloumi and then the pea/asparagus risotto, and while James chowed down very contentedly on his steak which he found delicious, Paul took a lighter fare option.
Even the check when it came amused me – the note that parties over 1 would be charged a gratuity. The idea I’m guessing that Jeremy encourages ‘parties’ of 1 that might be a bit lonely or in need of a social boost to be extra welcome to visit.
Lovely touches ran throughout, including the giant wall mural which was of course a designed Instagram opportunity. Again we took full advantage of that – but it was very thoughtfully done and made us laugh as we sat beside it discovering its animal character laden identities from the show.
On the grounds the opportunity to shop was limited as the tent was closed, but it didn’t matter. We learned a few days later that we had missed Jeremy coming in to play a set on the piano by one day. But as Bethany pointed out, best not to meet your heroes. Though I did wish I’d left a copy of my book by the beautiful flower arrangement!
The layout of the property was cleverly managed, with grid protections in place in high traffic areas, plenty of quite functional umbrellas on the non-slip deck (thanks Jeremy, and glad you saved that ridiculous fee for an awning, the umbrellas were fine),and the view as the sun dipped down in the sky was beautiful and the feeling of the place peaceful and cheery.
I am so glad that we took the drive out to visit The Farmer’s Dog. From the marketing and brand building lessons to the good food to experiencing the happy energy of the place and the knowledge that we were showing our bit of support for a man, his partner, and his dog(s) (however naughty they are on set) and well-chosen various teams doing a brilliant job – it was a highlight of our UK trip.
A note to Amazon – please roll on Series 5
