Star of Clarkson’s Farm says farm could not keep going…
Jeremy Clarkson has opened up about one of the toughest seasons yet at his now-famous Diddly Squat Farm, revealing that this year’s harvest has been nothing short of a “catastrophe.” The 65-year-old broadcaster, known for his hit Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm, took to social media to share his frustrations — and issue a stark warning about the realities facing farmers across Britain.
“It looks like this year’s harvest will be catastrophic,” Clarkson wrote to his 7.9 million followers. “That should be a worry for anyone who eats food. If a disaster on this scale had befallen any other industry, there would be a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Clarkson’s grim update comes after a year of volatile weather patterns that have wreaked havoc on crops nationwide. The Oxfordshire-based presenter, who farms more than 1,000 acres near Chipping Norton, revealed that rainfall shortages and erratic conditions had devastated his yields. “It is the crops that have been disastrous,” he admitted. “I planted 400,000 beetroot. Two grew.”
The situation at Diddly Squat Farm reflects a wider agricultural struggle felt across the UK this year. Fellow arable farmer Ally Hunter Blair from Herefordshire echoed Clarkson’s despair, calling it “the worst harvest of my life to date.” Both men have pointed to unpredictable weather and changing climate patterns as major culprits behind failing yields.
When asked whether the farm could survive financially without the additional income from his diversification projects — the Diddly Squat Farm Shop and the Farmer’s Dog pub — Clarkson’s answer was blunt. “Not a cat in hell’s chance,” he said, emphasising how vital these side ventures have become to keep his business afloat.
While many online commentators noted that the misfortune might make for “good television,” referencing the ongoing filming of Clarkson’s Farm Season 4, Clarkson was quick to highlight the harsh truth behind the humour. “Yes,” he replied, “but most farms do not have TV shows to keep them going.”
To make matters worse, Diddly Squat has recently been struck by another devastating blow — an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis (TB). In a separate post, Clarkson shared the emotional toll of the news, revealing that one of his cows, pregnant with twins, would have to be culled following a positive TB test.
“Bad news from Diddly Squat,” he wrote. “We have gone down with [bovine] TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.” Clarkson added that the disease, which continues to plague cattle farms across the UK, had left him and his team “heartbroken.”
The challenges facing Clarkson’s operation mirror what agricultural bodies are reporting across the country. According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), the 2025 harvest has been “stop-start” in nature, with heavy rain spells repeatedly interrupting progress.
As of August 6, the winter wheat harvest was reported to be 48% complete — ahead of the same period last year (37%) and well above the five-year average (31%). However, yields remain inconsistent. The national average currently sits at 7.66 tonnes per hectare, roughly 1% below the five-year average, though 5.2% higher than in 2024. Experts note that results vary widely between regions due to differences in soil quality and rainfall.
Meanwhile, the oilseed rape harvest — another key crop for British farmers — has now been completed, reaching an impressive 3.98 tonnes per hectare on average. This marks the highest national yield since 2011.
Spring barley harvesting has also begun, with 19% of the crop now complete — a significant improvement on the same period last year (7%) and well ahead of the five-year average (9%). Early yields have been promising, though analysts caution that results so far are heavily skewed toward the east of England, where conditions have been relatively favourable.
For Clarkson, however, the numbers bring little comfort. Between drought-stricken fields, failing beetroot, and a heartbreaking TB outbreak, the man once best known for his love of cars is confronting the unpredictable and often brutal reality of life on the land.
As he summed it up in his typically wry tone: “Farming isn’t glamorous. Some days, it just breaks your heart.”