Jeremy Clarkson told fans at the first Hawkstone festival that farming has 'changed' him, as he compared The Grand Tour to life on the land - and teased huge upset with Kaleb Cooper on new series of Clarkson's Farm09:16, 08 Sep 2026Updated 18:43, 08 Sep 2026Jeremy Clarkson has revealed he left Kaleb Cooper close to tears after one of the worst mistakes he's made on Diddly Squat Farm yet.‌The TV star said he's become a changed man after moving away from motoring TV - even after earning an 'absolute fortune' from it.‌Speaking at the first Hawkstone festival at his Farmer's Dog pub, Clarkson said a recent trip from the Cotswolds to London to see the new hosts of The Grand Tour in action made him realise how much his priorities have changed.‌“I watched the new first episode and they were doing what I’ve done for the last 25 years, driving around in very expensive cars - somebody else’s very fast cars,” he said. “Driving round race tracks in the sunshine and being heroes. I just thought, ‘That is not as good as giving birth to a calf.’“It just isn’t. And I got paid an absolute fortune for driving round corners too quickly while shouting. Now I get paid about £2.75 for birthing a calf at 3 in the morning but I much prefer the calf. I truly loved birthing a first calf on my own.”‌Clarkson also spoke about the steep learning curve - and the emotional toll - of keeping animals, admitting it's completely changed him.“With the animal it’s the weirdest relationship,” he said. “I know I’m going to eat them… I know they are going to be sold in the pub and other people are going to eat them.“I know that but you don’t half love them when you’ve got them on the farm and when they die or they get TB or they get Bluetongue or whatever it might be, it’s properly heartbreaking. And that’s the worst thing for me. I’m a little softy at heart.”‌He joked: "When it comes to animals I could watch James May being run over all day but a piglet, I can’t. I get wobbly.”Clarkson also claimed his 'worst mistake' was selling publishing rights to finance buying the farm “without doing a soil test”, adding: “What could possibly go wrong?!”‌Teasing the new series of Amazon hit Clarkson’s Farm, he said viewers will see the consequences of some more of his mishaps and his guilt at how it affected Kaleb Cooper."He’s the stupidest cleverest person I’ve ever met or the cleverest stupid person. He doesn’t know anything but when he does learn something my God, he’ clever at working it through. I couldn’t have done any of it without him really."‌"You’ll see it in this season. Kaleb does a speech where he’s almost in tears, saying 'I’m not from a farming background. Lots of farmers don’t think I’m a proper farmer. You’ve completely messed this up. They are all going to think I can’t farm.'"And it’s one of the most heartfelt tragic things you’ve ever seen. I felt so ashamed, genuinely ashamed. I had to go home and have 42 pints of Hawkstone to make myself feel better. I think that was probably my worst mistake genuinely."The event comes as Hawkstone announced it has teamed up with regenerative farming pioneers Wildfarmed to launch a new British lager, Wildthing.‌In a statement, Hawkstone said the collaboration 'isn’t just about giving you another beer', adding that farming is 'a brutal business' and farmers 'need our support more than ever.'Clarkson and Wildfarmed co-founder Andy Cato - also one half of Groove Armada - have not only brewed a beer together, but have also recorded a song to celebrate the feat.Cato has created a new version of the classic rock anthem Wild Thing, featuring vocals from the Hawkstone Farmers Choir, with proceeds from the single to be donated to a mixture of farming charities.Article continues belowClarkson, founder of Hawkstone, said: "We didn’t just want to make a brilliant regenerative beer, we wanted to make a difference to the people who work their backsides off to keep this country going. And, as luck would have it, Andy from Wildfarmed knows his way around a recording studio. So, buy the beer, stream the song, and do your bit for British farming."