Clarkson's Farm boosting interest in farming careers, say Harper Adams University leaders
Farming-based reality TV including Clarkson's Farm and Fletcher’s Family Farm are seemingly inspiring a new generation of farmers.
Recent data has revealed that young people are being inspired to follow in the footsteps of Jeremy Clarkson - with rising numbers of young people enrolling in land management courses.
The trend was first picked up by The Times newspaper, who attributed the effect to farming-based reality television programmes inspiring a new generation of farmers.
Data released in 2024 by university and college admissions body UCAS showed the number of applicants accepted onto agricultural courses had risen by eight per cent from the previous year – and since 2019, agriculture, food and other related degrees have seen a rise of almost 20 per cent.
The rise in interest has been welcomed by leaders at Harper Adams University in Edgmond, near Newport. Harper Adams specialises in higher education for the agricultural sector.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken Sloan said: “It’s a very welcome trend because you've got over seven million people watching Clarkson's Farm. They're also watching other programs like the Yorkshire Shepherdess and Fletcher's Family Farm.
"And everything we can do to expose a broader range of people to the excitement, and the complexity, and the challenges that are available to people who go into land-focused careers, has got to be attractive.
“Right now, we are seeing over the last period whilst that programme has been on there's been an overall 20 per cent increase in applications across the country through GuildHE members for food, farm and related courses. We're also seeing mirrors within the further education sector as well.
“So it's great to see that the real world of farming, the real world of land management, has been exposed to a much broader audience. And if we're going to feed our country, we need more people to be interested.”
Andrew Black, senior lecturer at Harper Adams, noted that it wasn’t simply Jeremy Clarkson himself who was drawing interest to land-based degrees, but also other stars of the show, such as affable land agent and agronomist Charlie Ireland.
He said: “The impact of Charlie's role in Clarkson's Farm is far more wide–reaching and we are starting to see a ripple effect in the number of students enrolling on our open days as a result."
