Jeremy Clarkson has confessed to followers that he nearly sold off his famed Diddly Squat farm earlier this year.
The former Top Gear host, 63, established the farm in 2020 and launched Clarkson’s Farm, an Amazon documentary series, in summer 2021.
But he’s now claimed that he almost gave it all up when a particularly wet summer in 2023 resulted in a disastrous harvest, forcing him to close the farm for permanently.
Months of rain and rising agricultural production expenses have likely resulted in Clarkson not turning a profit this year, prompting him to reconsider.
Reflecting on Diddly Squat, he said: ‘My first year of farming I made a profit of £114. That will look like a dream result when I get the figures for this year.’
In his column for The Times, he explained that he spent £40,000 on seeds, fertiliser, and sprays – that bill nearly tripled because of 2023’s weather.
Furthermore, Clarkson disclosed that a local slaughterhouse has closed, which means it now takes three hours to transport pigs there and back to the farm.
Speaking about attempting to raise profits, he said: ‘I tried farming conventionally, it didn’t work. I’ve tried diversifying and that hasn’t really worked either.’
‘I’ve tried with sheep and pigs and cows and that has been a bit of a disaster as well. So I arrived at a crossroads and was not sure which way to turn.’
Clarkson stated that he was willing to give up until he was told that all of the fertiliser he need for the following nine months had already been acquired.
He said that ‘the agricultural circle has began all over again,’ and that having the decision made for him enabled him to stand back from a ‘heartbreaking’ decision.
Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond gathered for a shot last month to preview a new season of their current programme, The Grand Tour.
It was first claimed that Amazon had fired Clarkson following his inflammatory piece regarding Meghan Markle, but production looks to be underway today.
Watch Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime Video.
