Kaleb Cooper, the breakout star from Clarkson’s Farm, has candidly shared his “frustrating” feelings about not being able to own his own farm just yet. The 25 year old farming prodigy, who has become a fan favourite as Jeremy Clarkson’s trusty sidekick on the hit Amazon Prime series, opened up about his aspirations and the financial hurdles he’s facing.
Since he was a teenager, Kaleb has had his heart set on farming, working on the land in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, long before Clarkson took the reins. Despite the skyrocketing costs that are keeping his dream just out of reach, he told The Telegraph, “Everything’s through the roof,” but he’s determined not to let that dampen his spirits or drive him away from his beloved countryside.
He described his situation as “frustrating” but remains resolute, saying, “That’s why I’m so busy doing everything possible to get to that dream [of buying a farm]… I’m going to do it one day.”
Kaleb’s commitment to farming goes beyond his television success; he’s clear that his passion for the land trumps his celebrity status, and he’s focused on turning his dream into a reality.
“There’s always a lot of talk of, ‘Don’t change, Kaleb, don’t do this and don’t do that,’ but that really annoys me,” he confessed to Amazon. “I’m 25 years old, yes, but I started my business at 13 years old with some chickens and I then started my contracting business at 16, so I’ve been doing this a long time and with everything that I do, it’s got to revolve around my business.”, reports the Daily Star.
Kaleb added: “I’m not going to chuck away my main business, the thing that feeds me, just because I’m on TV. I work every day.”
“Farming isn’t a job for me, it’s a way of life and I love that way of life. My dream is to buy my own farm and that is what I’m aiming towards.”
The father-of-two continued: “There’s something that’s stuck in my head continuously: dreams don’t work unless you do.”
Kaleb’s latest comments come ahead of the return of Clarkson’s Farm next month, when the third series of the hit show finds Diddly Squat facing some seriously daunting challenges. The crops are failing in the severe hot weather, inflation has driven prices of supplies sky high, dreams for the beloved restaurant are dashed and now the farm shop also faces closure.
Jeremy urgently needs to come up with creative new ways of making ends meet, so hatches a plan to turn a profit from hundreds of acres of unfarmed land – thick woodland and hedgerows that make up half of Diddly Squat. This triggers an avalanche of Clarkson-crafted schemes, involving everything from goats and pigs to mushrooms, nettles and deer.
The new series will drop in two parts, with the first episodes airing from May 3, with the remaining instalments dropping on May 10.
