Overview
- Jeremy Clarkson recounts that the flax harvest at his Diddly Squat farm went badly because no local machine could harvest the stalks and much of the work had to be done by hand, leaving his colleague Kaleb Cooper refusing to speak to him.
- Clarkson says he abandoned sowing wheat and barley after being told they would not succeed on his land, so he tried other enterprises instead.
- Earlier experiments at the farm also failed: rabbit breeding did not produce reliable litters and proved aggressive, and a market-garden of herbs yielded mainly parsley, little coriander and a lot of dead thyme.
- The flax episode highlights concrete barriers to rapid crop switching: specialised harvesting equipment is scarce, the process is labour intensive, and post-harvest handling can be complex and costly.
- Experts quoted alongside Clarkson’s account warn that warmer summers may open options for new crops but that Britain’s weather is becoming more extreme so farmers must weigh equipment needs, labour and wetter winters when planning land use.