How Clarkson’s Farm Explains Crazy Politics And Future Of Farming
Auguste Meyrat Visit on Twitter@MeyratAuguste
Defying all expectations, Clarkson’s Farm, a series about British journalist and TV show host Jeremy Clarkson running a farm, is still a popular hit. Now five seasons in, its appeal remains strong, with the characters established and working well together.
It’s a shift from earlier seasons. In the first two seasons, Clarkson leaned hard on Kaleb Cooper, a seasoned farmhand half Clarkson’s age. Clarkson frequently misjudged certain jobs on the farm, making a mess which required Kaleb to step in, yell at him, and clean it up.
Now, these scenes happen less often. Instead, the two work and plan together like close friends. While the former setup helped generate funny moments, the latter setup proves to be more satisfying as the two continue the banter but learn from one another and complement each other’s strengths.
What really sets Clarkson’s Farm apart from other reality shows is its social commentary. Besides showcasing farming life it demonstrates the intersection of economics, politics, and culture.
In the first two seasons, Clarkson encountered more absurd regulations and difficulties from local councils than the actual work of planting crops and raising livestock. In the third and fourth seasons, Clarkson and Cooper became spokesmen for all British farmers, even meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
While these concerns continue to figure heavily in the fifth season, Clarkson turns his attention elsewhere and considers the future of farming. Suffering from poor health (he begins and ends the season in the hospital), Clarkson explores ways to cut labor demands by renting an autonomous tractor (“the Agbot”) to prepare his fields and plant his crops. He gets this idea after attending a farm convention and taking a trip to the hyper-automated farms of the Netherlands. To everyone’s amazement, even Cooper, the technology works quite well.
This aspect of the season is easily the most relevant and compelling. Many commentators speak on the potential effects AI and autonomous robots have on today’s economy. Clarkson demonstrates what this could look like: a huge increase in productivity and consequent evolution in the nature of work.
Far from robbing the farmers of meaningful labor, this technology frees them for other things, such as researching new farming techniques, planning events, bird watching, focusing more on the livestock, or simply taking walks and enjoying much-needed leisure. Oddly enough, this season comes closest to the pastoral ideal people associate with farming — all because of the Agbot.