Countryfile's Adam Henson opens up on 'very challenging' and 'horrible' struggle

Daily Mirror

8 hours ago

Countryfile presenter Adam Henson, who has been fronting the BBC show since 2001, has opened up about a 'very challenging' year for the farming and tourism sectors
Countryfile's Adam Henson has described 2024 as a "very challenging" year for the tourism and farming industries, primarily due to the extreme weather conditions.
The past year recorded the sixth wettest spring in history, followed by an underwhelming summer that only saw a brief heatwave in August. In fact, the 2023-24 season witnessed the highest number of named storms since the naming system began a decade ago.
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The persistent rain carried on into September and autumn, wreaking havoc on the harvest, according to Adam.
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He said: "Yeah, it's been very challenging for, well, tourist enterprises, outdoor tourist enterprises and farms right across the UK, just because it's been horrible.
"We've certainly got some fields with quite a lot of crops in them that we haven't actually harvested and we never will."
In a conversation with Minerva magazine, Adam mentioned that nowadays, over 60 per cent of farmers take on a second job as a safeguard against poor seasons. "Duncan, my business partner, over the last 30 years, continued developing the farm park, and then to grow and expand on the types of diversification we've got," he elaborated.
At 59-year-old, Adam reflected on the wisdom he gained from his father Joe Henson, who hosted a TV programme called In The Country. He remembers his dad emphasising that adaptability is crucial for enduring tough times.
Adam shared how witnessing his father's career flourish through television work and the popularity of the Farm Park taught him the importance of having diverse sources of income at the farm.
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Adam took a hands-on approach to the family venture in his teens. "I love the Farm Park – the camping and glamping element too as well as the farming. We have a beautiful spot here and I love to share that."
But he warns that farming comes with its shares of highs and lows. "To be a farmer, I think you have to be incredibly committed. I grew up in Wiltshire and lots of my friends are farmers and they never knew whether they're going to have a good year," he said.
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Adam himself faced a dire situation when the Foot and Mouth crisis threatened his family farm's survival.
Speaking to The Countrywoman's Guide, Adam described that period: "For us, Foot and Mouth was a really hard time. "We were tenants of the farm and we were heavily invested in Cotswold Farm Park, as we'd borrowed a lot of money, on top of our heavy overdraft, to push forward the business forward."
The outbreak struck soon after he and his business associate Duncan had taken out loans to grow their enterprise.
With over 2,000 cases recorded nationwide and upwards of six million sheep and cattle culled to prevent the contagion, the UK was reeling.
According to Adam, the epidemic left his business hanging by a thread. "It was horrible, and we were in trouble," he admitted. "The farm closed, the bank was closing in on us, as was our landlord.
"We sat around the kitchen table with our wives – all our assets were tied up in the farm, if we lost the business, we lost our houses and our livelihoods."