Jeremy Clarkson's new farm sidekick aims to change atttitudes
She has given Kaleb a run for his money and now Harriet Cowan wants to be a voice for young farmers.The 24-year-old, from Derbyshire, has become Jeremy Clarkson's new sidekick on the latest series of his popular show Clarkson's Farm, standing in for Kaleb Cooper for three episodes while he toured.She describes herself as both a full-time farmer and nurse, working as a community nurse in Belper when she is not on the farm.But she says her appearance in the Amazon Prime series has given her a new opportunity to speak up on farmers' mental health, be a voice for young, female farmers and attempt to change stereotypes of farming.
The programme has proved a major hit for the streaming giant since it first aired in 2021 and is now into its fourth season.Harriet's appearances in the show have provided a further window into the mental pressures faced by the farming community."It's the unknown all the time," she said."You don't know if the grass is going to grow, you don't know how much the fertiliser is going to cost, you don't know how much you're going to sell that cow for."It's hard because you're in an industry where a lot of the time you work alone, and we do. It's lonely, you don't have anyone to talk to."I've seen a lot of farmers shut off since Covid, and they don't want to go out and socialise anymore because they're used to being isolated."We lost a lot of social skills. Now, it's about building them back up and getting farmers to talk again and tell people about the challenges they're facing."If I can do anything, I'm going to use the platform to promote the mental health aspect in farming and if I can save one life, it's something."
Harriet says she also wants to challenge stereotypes of farming."I think when you talk to somebody and ask what they stereotypically think of when someone says farmer they say '60-year-old man with a checked shirt and a beer belly', and a lot of the time that is it, but us women are out here and farmers too," she said."Just because I'm a small, blonde that likes to curl her hair and wear make-up, it doesn't mean I can't be a farmer."I'm trying to change the norm of the man being the farmer and the woman being the stay-at-home wife and cook."When the war was on, women did all the farming, so we have always farmed - it's just changing that stereotype."
Harriet said she was approached to take part in the show by land agent Charlie Ireland – nicknamed "Cheerful Charlie" by Clarkson on the show - but admitted she had not watched a single episode before filming began."It worked so much better I think because I didn't know what to expect. I just went out and did what I'd do on my farm," she said."Every farm is slightly different but at the end of the day you all have the same goal. You're there to farm the land and look after your animals."Jeremy was no different. He's the same as every other farmer I know. He just wanted to achieve something with his farm and look after his animals and get the best out of it."Growing up, I never watched Top Gear and we don't watch a lot of TV, so he was just another farmer for me. Flat peak cap and a checked shirt."Genuinely, that man just wants to achieve something with his farm. He really does want to learn as well, which is the best bit for me."
'The humour's real'
Harriet says the show is truly authentic and nothing much changes when the cameras stop rolling."I didn't have to worry about any cameras or anything. You forgot they were even there," she said."We just went along, farmed and did our day-to-day stuff. Any bits that were funny were just authentically funny because that was our dynamic."It's nice to keep it light-hearted on a farm because it's such a serious job."We don't really change for the cameras coming on. We just get our heads down, farm and they do what they need to do to get the bits they need."There was a lot of work there with the pigs. Every day sent a new challenge. It was good fun. It was hard work but farming is hard work."
Harriet said she was pleased with the warm response to her time on the show."I am blown away. I can't thank people enough for how nice and positive everything's been," she said."I'm shocked because I didn't realise that many people were interested in me and what I do day-to-day. I've never really thought of it as anything that's exciting, it's just my little life. I get up and farm, I go to work and come back and farm."The way that it's blown up on social media and even walking down the street seeing people recognise us is absolutely crazy."Harriet had a slightly frosty start to meeting Kaleb on the show but says they have become good friends since filming."Kaleb's amazing - me and him are so close now," she said."He's such a good farmer and we got on really well. He's another farmer to add to my phone list to ring."Everyone checks in to make sure everyone's fine. The farm is two and a bit hours away, so it's crazy to be talking to Kaleb, Jeremy, Gerald and Charlie and asking what the weather is like."
Future plans
Harriet now has to decide what to do next with her new-found platform."My life is going to be constantly farming. I'm never not going to farm, and I know it," she said."I've just got to find a way to use what platform I've got to promote women in the industry and mental health."You're never getting me off the farm, they'll have to take me screaming and kicking."Harriet says the door has been left open for her to potentially appear on future seasons of the show.She said: "We've left it very open. I'm here if he needs me, but no plans at the moment."
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