Jeremy Clarkson takes pop at 'smug' BBC Countryfile presenter

By Matt Jackson, Content Editor

Jeremy Clarkson has taken a cheeky jab at Countryfile's Adam Henson after his own farming efforts at Diddly Squat Farm fell short of expectations.

Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy says he was looking through Instagram when he saw the Countryfile star proudly talking about his barley. The 64-year-old said Adam told his followers that his crop would be used to make beer.

Sadly, Jeremy said his own produce from the Diddly Squat Farm failed to make the grade, instead it was destined to be pig feed. To make matters worse, his wheat suffered a similar fate after he took a gamble on a variety that favoured warmer temperatures, before a rainy summer.

In his book Diddly Squat: Home to Roost, Clarkson wrote: "I just tuned into Instagram and there was Adam Henson from Countryfile telling us, I thought rather smugly, that his Maris Otter barley has passed all the tests and will now be sent off to the maltsters before being turned into a beer that he has decided to launch. No clue where he got that idea from."

BBC Countryfile star Adam Henson runs Cotswold Park Farm (Image: BBC)

"Well, bully for you Adam, because my barley has not passed all the tests. So it will not be going to the maltsters and it will not end up in your next pint of Hawkstone. Instead it'll end up in a pig."

The television presenter has documented his struggles at Diddly Squat Farm on the Amazon Prime hit Clarkson's Farm. On it viewers have watched on as he launches his farm shop, tackles red tape and bad weather, and launches products like his Hawkstone beer.

Adam meanwhile operates the thriving Cotswolds Park Farm at Bemborough Farm in Gloucestershire, which not only functions as a working farm but also attracts tourists with its rides, camping facilities, and interactive animal encounters.

Clarkson runs Diddly Squat Farm in Chipping Norton (Image: Getty)

In contrast, Jeremy has been vocal about the challenges faced by farmers, revealing that he earned a mere £114 in his first year at Diddly Squat - a figure he claims would be a "dream" to replicate, reports Gloucestershire Live.

He said: "It's all right for Adam Henson because somehow his stuff grew well, and it's all right for me because I had Amazon in the background. But for thousands of other farmers, it is not all right."

Jeremy describes 2023 as a "disaster" for smaller farms in Britain.