Midland Farmer


EDITORIAL


Editor: Johann Tasker | T: 07967 634971 E: johann@ruralcity.co.uk


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Jeremy Clarkson delivers for farmers


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Midland Farmer is a controlled circulation magazine published monthly for farmers and growers in the Midlands (Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire) or companies supplying goods and services to the sector. To be included on the circulation list, a farmer must have a minimum of 70 acres of land, or 50 dairy/beef stock, or 50 breeding sows/250 growing stock, or 15,000 laying hens/broiler chickens. Intensive horticulture units are required to have a minimum of two hectares.


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© Countrywide Publications 2021


Published by Countrywide Publications, Fountain Way, Reydon Business Park, Reydon Suffolk IP18 6DH T: 01502 725800 Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd T: 01502 725800


any farmers were naturally nervous when they heard Jeremy Clarkson was making a TV show about farming. Clarkson has a reputation for creating good television. But he also has a reputation for being boorish, deliberately contrary and – literally – punchy in his quest to deliver some of the best viewing fi gures in the world. But anyone watching Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime Video (see page 46) will see it is none of those things. Instead, it is a gritty portrayal of the trials and tribulations faced by farmers every day as they feed the world. The eight-part series follows Clarkson for a year as he takes on the management of his own 400ha farm in the Cotswolds. Yes, there are times when it seems contrived. But it is also heartfelt as well as entertaining. Farmers and anyone connected with agriculture


have been crying out for a TV series like this for years. Something which tells their story to the masses – and gets the farming message across to the general public. Some farmers have said that Jeremy Clarkson has done more to promote a positive public image


Contents


for farming than our industry leaders have done in more than 25 years. While there may be some truth in that analysis, it is also rather unfair. Few people – if anyone – can pull in viewing numbers like Clarkson. But there is no denying he has done a fantastic job in creating a TV series which has shown just how hard farmers work, often for little or no reward.


“ Vol 10 • No 8 • August 2021


News .................................................................... 4 Arable ...................................................................7 Soil health .........................................................19 Water .................................................................. 27 Livestock ...........................................................31


SHORT OF STORAGE SPACE?


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BOWIE sales@bowielockwood.co.uk RIDBA Rural & Industrial Design & Building Association AUGUST 2021 • MIDLAND FARMER 3


UK Dairy Day .................................................. 35 Farm safety ......................................................41 Machinery ....................................................... 45 Final say ........................................................... 46


It is a gritty portrayal of the trials and tribulations faced by farmers every day


It is also a celebration of agriculture. Despite all the mishaps, the missed tramlines and the constant battles against bureaucracy and the weather, Clarkson recognises that farming is still the best job in the world. Following this success, it is no surprise that a second series has been commissioned. Like many other views, we can’t wait to see it. Johann Tasker, Editor


OPINIONJohann Tasker


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