Jeremy Clarkson who has an estimated fortune of £55 million has claimed more that £250,000 in government and EU subsidies for his farm in the last three years, the Mirror reports. According to figures obtained using Environmental Information regulations Diddly Squat Farm has benefitted by two kinds of payments.
The popular presenter has regularly spoken out on people ‘not paying enough’ for food and claims most farms don’t make a profit on the hit Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm. The Mirror reported that the farm got the money from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).
Figures obtained using Environmental Information regulations reveal that the agency, part of DEFRA, awarded the business £133,733.01 under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), split across two payments in December 2021 and 2022.
In addition, the Cotswolds farm received £116,352 in four payments from May 2020 to December 2022 under the Environmental Stewardship (ES) scheme.
Speaking to PA in January Clarkson said many farmers can’t afford to take a wage. He said: “I was generally aware of this, but there’s so much of it now. Dairy’s in a proper mess because of TB and badgers. Pigs are in a real pickle because of lots of things, Brexit being the main one.
“Poultry farmers are in a total mess because of bird flu. Cereal farmers like myself are in a mess because we don’t know what we’re supposed to be growing, or what fertilisers we’re supposed to be using — and fertiliser is now costing £1,000 a tonne rather than £200 like last year.
“So, in every area, it’s a nightmare. It’s not a disaster for me because I’ve got other ways of earning a living but if you haven’t – and 99.9% of farmers don’t have another income stream – then a lot of them are simply not taking a wage.
“They’re working seven days a week with their arm up a cow’s bottom for nothing. And they’re absolutely powerless.
“And people will not pay properly for their food. Food is far too cheap. I know you can’t say that, but it’s far too cheap. If the Government said, “Right, we’re going to double the price of food”, they’d be out of office within five minutes. But that’s what they’ve got to do, really.”
The show’s popularity attracts thousands of visitors to the Diddly Squat farm shop to buy products such as “Cow Juice”, rapeseed oil, chutneys and jams. The RPA commented: “The Basic Payments Scheme (BPS) makes income support payments to farmers carrying out qualifying agricultural activities on eligible agricultural land that they own or hold as tenants.
“Now that we have left the EU, BPS is being phased out in favour of alternative schemes that will reward farmers directly for the public benefits that they provide.
“Agri-environmental schemes reward farmers and land managers for looking after and improving the environment - conserving and restoring wildlife habitats; maintaining good air and water quality; managing flood risk; creating and managing woodland and preserving historical features in the landscape.”
According to Defra, BPS payments have been fully funded by the UK government since 2021 and ES payments were fully funded by the EU from 2020-22. In the finale of the first series of Clarkson’s Farm, the TV star pointed out – in reference to the farm’s finances – he had “worked bloody hard all year and my reward was £144”.
The former Top Gear presenter has won praise for showcasing British farming – he was named NFU’s 2021 “Farming Champion of the Year” at the Farmers Weekly Awards.
