Jeremy Clarkson's success as a farmer is spurring a new generation to follow in his footsteps

Jeremy Clarkson has become Britain's most famous farmer in a matter of months - and a new generation of eco-minded urbanites are following in his footsteps.

The former Top Gear presenter has won plaudits for his Amazon series Clarkson's Farm, which has seen him crowned Farming Champion of the Year by the NFU and praised for shining a light on the challenges faced by Britain's agricultural community.

But he is also one of a new breed of well-off "pioneer farmers" who are shunning the rat race to go back to the land, with the environment in mind.

Estate agency Strutt & Parker said that "non-farmers", including lifestyle buyers and green investors seeking to make money from sucking up carbon dioxide or providing habitats for nature, are now the main type of buyer in the South East and South West of England, making up almost half of farming purchases across England this year.

Alluring new life in the country

Christian Swaab, head of country sales in the Cheltenham office of estate agent Savills, said there has been a flurry of interest in people considering a new life in the country after the programme aired.

The company is marketing a small 24-acre farm in Ross-on-Wye as "perfect" for fans of Clarkson's Farm.

"In the last 20 months, we've seen people wanting to reinvent themselves and get fresh air, but not be too far flung.

"They want to have that bigger garden, bigger space, and then you suddenly see people that have got the money to go 'look, actually I want to go beyond this, I want to have a little farm' - what we call a 'gentleman's farm', where you've got rare breeds and things like that.

"Mr Clarkson's programme, which is brilliant, has put a little bit more petrol into the system, people thinking 'well can I become a small farmer? - a life change," he said.

Property agents Knight Frank said that buyers interested in environmentally-friendly ways of using the land are one of the key groups driving up prices for farmland, which have risen by almost four per cent in the past three months.

"A lack of supply and strong demand, including from environmentally-focused buyers, are behind the rise," the company said.

Two new farmers are Brett Sacks, 34, and his partner Katie Forman, 35, who recently left their careers in banking and window-dressing at London department stores to raise pigs and a dairy herd on an eco-friendly farm in West Sussex, in a partnership with another couple.

Their move was "in search of fulfilment," Mr Sacks said. "The smallest things like seeing a plant break through the earth and then start growing or something bigger, like a cow calving - that that does give you enthusiasm, and passion, and vigour," he said.

Another new farmer is Sam Barcroft, 46, who sold his media company in 2019 and used the proceeds to buy a 98-acre farm in Herefordshire late last year.

"The entrepreneur in me wants to see if we can help by coming into an older farm and trying to figure out what a template might look like for a mixed use farm in the 21st century.

"We're starting from scratch, rather than the challenge faced by most landowners and farmers, which is having existing income streams and needing to keep them going. We don't face that same challenge," he said.

He plans to relay hedgerows on the land, following maps from the 19th century, and use cattle to fertilise the land naturally, as well as starting up a tourism business.

So many urbanites have moved to the area in recent years that locals call it "London Road," he said.

"One of our neighbours was head of digital at Deutsche Bank, and developed a lovely farm and is now a farmer, so it's not unusual here," he added.

Graeme Willis, agricultural lead at CPRE, the countryside charity, said: "New thinking, new ideas – new farmers – are to be welcomed, particularly if they are willing to take risks and invest new money in regenerating the land and finding healthier ways to produce food and improve the environment.

"Jeremy Clarkson is the most famous example of a growing army of wealthy pioneer farmers with the power to do just that."