Latest news with #Farming
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jeremy Clarkson's Farm star Harriet Cowan shares rare loved-up picture with her long-term partner
's Farm star Harriet Cowan has shared a rare loved-up picture with her long-term partner, James Booth to TikTok on Thursday. The 24-year-old nurse and farmhand shocked viewers of the hugely popular Prime Video show when she appeared in the trailer for series four after Jeremy's co-star Kaleb Cooper temporarily left the show. And she has been enjoying her time in the spotlight ever since, now boasting half a million followers on Instagram and 700,000 over on TikTok. While she has not been cast permanently on the farm show, she has been keeping her fans updated on her personal life as she revealed a sweet back story about her relationship. Jumping on a recent TikTok trend, she took to the social media platform to share a cosy snapshot with her partner James alongside a throwback picture from their teen days in 2018. Harriet penned: 'From party teenagers in 2018, to mid-to-late 20s in 2025 and like to be in bed before 10. I hope I get to this life with you forever.' Harriet and her beau, who is believed to be a third-generation farmer, first met at a Young Farmer's meeting. Harriet has given her followers a sneak peek into their private life together through her social media and has an entire highlight dedicated to her 'love'. In one of her recent posts, she shared a clip of James behind the wheel of a green tractor, and suggested that that he is four years her senior. In another post, she quipped: 'The 'butterfly effect' is crazy because if I didn't join Young Farmers we'd never have met.' 'YFC gave me my whole life and for that I will be forever grateful!' Harriet also urged others to consider joining community groups, promising they will 'meet the greatest people'. Her followers were happy to see the couple together and publicly sharing insights into their life. One commented: 'Wishing you both eternal happiness,' while another added: 'You two are so cute,'. One follower, who has been in a relationship for a similar duration, shared: 'Me and my partner begun our relationship in 2018 too! 7 years, 1 dog, 2 kids and two homes later, we made it.' Some fans hinted at wedding bells, too. One joked: 'Buddy needs to put a ring on your finger.' And another cheekily asked: 'When's the wedding?.' Harriet recently broke her silence on a 'fake' Clarkson's Farm scene as she spoke candidly on a new podcast. She has been helping out Jeremy with an array of tasks on the farm and impressing viewers while also challenging stereotypes around women in farming. And last week Harriet appeared on the Should I Delete That podcast with Jeremy's daughter Emily. She spoke about one scene in the trailer that she thought seemed 'fake' when she watched it back but was in fact completely true. They discussed on the podcast how busy farmers are and how Harriet also works a full time nursing job five days a week. Emily asked her: 'Do you ever sit down with your boyfriend and chill together, or eat together? It sounds impossible.' Harriet then said: 'No! In the trailer where it's like, 'Have you watched Clarkson's Farm before?' And I'm like, 'No', and when I watched it it looked so fake. But it is so real because we don't watch telly. 'Literally, if we watch something, James will sit down, his head will hit the back of the sofa and he's asleep because the second he can rest, he'll sleep, because he's so tired all the time.' On the podcast Harriet also spoke about breaking stereotypes of women working in the world of farming On the podcast Harriet also spoke about breaking stereotypes of women working in farming. She said of appearing on the show: 'I wanted to show that women can do it too, we are there but people can't see it. Women can do it. 'Most people think of just older men wearing checked shirts when it comes to farming. 'I am challenging people's views of what people think a farmer looks like. People are so shocked when they drive past and I'm in the tractor they just stare.' The recent Clarkson's Farm trailer showed Jeremy running into several obstacles on the farm, yet TikTok star Harriet made a good impression as she was quick to help. Jeremy was left in awe at her work, turning to the camera and gushing: 'She's brilliant!' She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty as she put in fences, loaded feed for the animals and even showed her welding skills on Diddly Squat Farm. Kaleb - who was on a nationwide tour - later returned to the farm and seemed to be getting along well with his replacement. It's hardly surprising that Harriet was a natural on the farm, having grown up helping her father Eddy tend to his land. She revealed on social media that her mother wanted her to become a nurse but her father wanted her to follow in his footsteps - so she opted to do both.
Time Out
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
F1: The Movie
Loosely doing for Days of Thunder what Top Gun: Maverick did for Top Gun, and filling a big Top Gear gap for your dad in the process, F1 is the Jerry Bruckheimiest thing to hit our screens in an age – and it's a full-throttle triumph. The '90s are officially back and they're really, really loud. With Brad Pitt engaging A-list god mode, a booming Hans Zimmer score, a crateload full of pop and dance bangers, and writer-director Joseph Kosinski hitting the same punch-the-air beats as his superlative 2022 Top Gun reboot, it's a throwback to simpler days when multi-dimensional characters were a luxury no one could afford, because they'd spent all the money on helicopter shots. But switch off your brain and F1 will overwhelm your senses with spectacle, sonics and just enough human drama to hold it all together. A sport so in love with its soapy dramatics, its team chiefs were bitching about each other at the premiere of this movie, the gleaming, hermetic world of F1 isn't a natural fit for Pitt's languid charisma. Which is ideal, because his impulsive veteran racing driver, Sonny Hayes, isn't either. When we meet him, Sonny is an ex-F1 superstar with a troubled past and a transient present as a driver-for-hire at Daytona. His old pal and F1 team owner Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem, bringing his A-game to a B-grade character) has a proposal for him: help his struggling team finish the season in something other than disgraceful fashion, and stave off the vultures on the board in the process. Pitt's veteran wheel-jockey is soon rocking up at Silverstone with a bag slung over his shoulder, a chest full of medallions and the air of a man in completely the wrong place. 'He's a gambling junkie who's missed his shot,' grumbles a new team member. 'Not a has-been, a never-was', adds another. The '90s are officially back and they're really, really loud There's immediate tension with his new team's cocky star driver Joshua Peace (Farming 's Damson Idris) and a tense-but-flirty standoff with the team's technical director (The Banshees of Inisherin 's Kerry Condon). So, yes, F1 does deliver just about every available comeback story cliché, but when there's this much rizz and this many thrills, it scarcely matters. And Londoner Idris is a real star-in-the-making here. And the races? Even for someone who's sat through about four laps of Formula 1 in his entire life, the race track action is electrifying. It only dragged when the movie ticked well into its second hour and we'd toured most of the world's race tracks and clocked up our thousandth F1 celebrity cameo (hello – checks notes – Toto Wolff). It's hard to draw too much old-school romance from this world of sponsorship, celebrity and sports washing, but F1 manages it on the back of Pitt's earthy charm. Watch it rev into the canon of great sports movies. Motion sickness tablets recommended.
The Sun
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Noel Edmonds, 76, opens up on TV return with series about his life in New Zealand – & how it compares to Clarkson's Farm
A LARGER than life showbiz veteran documenting his new life on a farm is a hit TV formula for Jeremy Clarkson. Now there is another famous face who is also getting in on the action, Noel Edmonds. 7 7 7 However the quirky host insists his new ITV1 show is nothing like Clarkson's Farm — because he's not as funny as the former Top Gear star. Noel exclusively told The Sun: 'When we were filming our show, some people who knew about Clarkson's Farm said to me, 'Oh, is it like Clarkson's Farm?' 'And I said, 'No, it couldn't be more different.' 'First of all, I'm not like Jeremy in many ways, though I wish I were. "He's brilliant. 'He can articulate an argument beautifully and deliver a sharp, humorous line like no one else.' Noel, 76, is perhaps doing himself a disservice, as he went on to crack a joke about his years in the showbiz wilderness. His last big gig was on I'm A Celebrity in 2018, when he was voted out after only nine days. Noel laughed: 'People still ask, 'Noel Edmonds? Didn't he die? Is he still around?' 'Yes, I'm still here — and living life to the full.' Noel now lives in New Zealand where he and wife Liz have been based since 2016 after he quit the UK. 'Punishing schedule' For the first time he will be putting his new life in the spotlight in the ITV1 show, Noel's Kiwi Adventure. Unlike Jeremy, the former Deal Or No Deal host is no newcomer to farming. He's been working in agriculture since the Eighties in Devon, when he was one of the UK's biggest stars. Noel said: 'Over the years I've known Jeremy. 'If you watch a video called Noel's Le Mans Dream, you'll see Jeremy was part of my boys' team, alongside Nick Mason, Gary Rhodes, and others. 'I entered a two-car team in the Le Mans 24-hour race. 'I thoroughly enjoyed that weekend. 'I don't think I saw Jeremy eat any solids. 'He was a regular in the hospitality tents, a great character.' He continues: 'Clarkson's Farm came along, and I think it's brilliant. 'There are three things in particular I admire. 'First, the production values — the way it's made, the narrative structure — it's exceptional. 'Not contrived, but very well-constructed. 'Second, he's highlighted how mad our relationship is with public servants. " Jeremy trying to get permission for a restaurant, a shop, a car park . . . dealing with council staff who don't seem to understand they are public servants. 'They are meant to serve the public. 'He's shown how difficult they make things. 'Third, and most importantly, he's shown how hard it is to be a farmer. 'I've been farming since the early Eighties and it's always been tough. "In Devon, the paperwork alone was staggering. 'Constant rules. Constant restrictions. All about control.' Liz and I allowed the cameras into our lives. The filming followed what we did in September, October, November of 2024, right up to Christmas. Noel on his new TV show Noel's series will involve a lot less red tape. But, just like Jeremy, he's also acquired a pub — The Bugger Inn in River Haven, near Nelson on the South Island. Noel explains: 'The key difference between our Kiwi Adventure, and Clarkson's Farm is that ours is more of a lifestyle narrative. 'Liz and I allowed the cameras into our lives. 'The filming followed what we did in September, October, November of 2024, right up to Christmas. "It documented our lifestyle - two people deciding to leave the UK and start over in New Zealand. 'And yes, everyone says it: 'Oh, New Zealand, that's a long way away.' And we just say, 'Exactly, that's why we're here.' 'In 2016 we decided to explore our options to move away from the UK and our first holiday was to New Zealand. 'We got a real feel for New Zealand and began to understand the Kiwi way of life. 7 7 'At the same time, Deal Or No Deal was coming to an end — 3,000 shows over ten years. 'It was a punishing schedule. 'This show tells the story of the challenges we've faced, the joys we've discovered, and all the fun we've had. 'I really hope the fun element of our Kiwi Adventure comes through, and maybe it will make people curious about New Zealand.' The series also shows them enjoy some of the country's hot spots, including a helicopter flight above the South Island's glacier and some fun on a boat in the balmy north. But it is not all fun and games and the series will show the brutal side of farming. He said: 'We have a fair amount of land here and we practise what I call ethical farming. 'Some call it regenerative farming, that's the buzzword. 'For me, ethical farming means treating livestock with respect. 'We know why we're farming them and what the final outcome is. 'I don't like that part. "I really don't. 'I'm a hypocrite. 'I'm a coward. 'I don't want to be involved in that final journey. 'But we try to give them the finest feed, structured water, and as much dignity as possible.' Making his name as a DJ on Radio 1 in the early Seventies, he went on to host kids show Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Top Of The Pops, cult quiz show Telly Addicts and Noel's House Party which inspired Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, and turned the lesser celebrated Mr Blobby into a TV juggernaut. 'Hippies in yurts' Later he presented Channel 4 gameshow Deal Or No Deal from 2005 to 2016 — which was recommissioned in 2023 with Stephen Mulhern taking over as host. It was thanks to Deal Or No Deal that Noel met Liz, his wife of 17 years, as she worked as a make-up artist on the show. Aside from his I'm A Celebrity appearance, for which he bagged a £600,000 fee, British audiences have barely seen father-of-four Noel over the past decade. It's so beautiful here that I'll walk my land and just stop for an hour, admiring the view and not get any work done. The landscape is sensational. Noel on his New Zealand home Noel and Liz, his third wife, were initially based in Auckland but Noel decided the city was too busy so they moved to the remote Tasman region instead. He laughed: 'It was so busy it began to feel like the UK or Europe. 'I even called it Euro Zealand. 'It's so beautiful here that I'll walk my land and just stop for an hour, admiring the view and not get any work done. 'The landscape is sensational.' However, it's not all peace and tranquillity, and that's mainly down to the extreme weather they experience. He added: 'The weather here has attitude. 'I lived in Devon for 20 years and there you'd get grey days with drizzle drifting in from the Atlantic. But here? 'When it blows, it really blows — trees come down. 'When it rains, it's tropical stair-rodding rain. 'You get landslips. And the sun? 'It'll burn you within ten minutes in peak season. 'Oh, and earthquakes. 'We've had three. 'During the first one, we were sitting outside with a glass of wine, and I noticed the surface of the wine rippling. 'That was a mild one. 'The biggest one really shook the house — the cutlery drawer rattled, and Liz and I each grabbed a dog and ran outside. "No structural damage, thankfully. 'But yes, earthquakes - and a dormant volcano just up the way. 'At least, we hope it's dormant.' Another big factor as to why Noel has settled so well in New Zealand is the people. He said: 'They love a good time, a good laugh and they don't take themselves, or their politicians, too seriously. 'I love that. 'Especially here, in this area, which became a kind of haven for the hippies in the Sixties and Seventies. 'There are still people living in yurts up the valley, and good on them. 'What we found was overwhelming kindness. 'We were living in Matakana during the flu outbreak and, suddenly, our mailbox was full of avocados, chocolates, home-cooked things - little gifts from locals who wanted to look after 'the two Brits up the way'. 'It was heartwarming. 'If a Kiwi invites you to their home, you always say: 'Thanks, what can I bring?' In the UK, you might show up with a bottle or a bunch of flowers from the petrol station. 'Here, it's expected that you contribute.' But if anyone knows how to throw a good house party, it's Noel. Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure airs later this month on ITV1 and ITVX. 7 7
Zawya
20-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Sweet harvest: Omani farmer's fig venture bears fruit in Mahdha
Muscat – Driven by a commitment to agricultural innovation and sustainability, an Omani farmer in the border town of Mahdha in Buraimi is transforming arid land into a fertile farm. Ali bin Hamad al Badi has successfully cultivated four fields producing Turkish brown figs, Fardh dates, mangoes and lemons. Supported by Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, his venture is becoming a model of economic potential in the governorate. 'What began as a bold experiment is now bearing real fruit – literally and figuratively,' Badi said. 'We're currently harvesting between 90kg to 100kg of figs every day, and demand in local markets has been overwhelming.' Badi's figs, known for high quality and freshness, are proving popular with consumers across Buraimi. Encouraged by the strong market response, he plans to expand his operations by planting 550 yellow Spanish fig seedlings – a variety prized for quality and demand. Behind this success is consistent support from agricultural authorities. 'The technical support and field visits from the Agriculture and Water Resources Directorate in Buraimi and the Agriculture Department in Mahdha were crucial. Their expertise helped me manage the farm effectively from the ground up,' Badi noted. His venture is about more than just figs – it is about setting an example for others. 'We need to encourage more farmers to establish commercial fields,' he said. 'They're easier to manage, and with the right support, can provide sustainable and profitable returns. It's good for farmers and for Oman's food security.' The ministry's support is part of a broader national strategy to promote food security, diversify crop production and encourage investment in high-value agriculture. Projects like Badi's highlight what is possible when tradition meets innovation and when farmers are empowered to take calculated risks with commercially viable crops. With the next planting phase just around the corner, Badi's journey is far from over. He has planted in Mahdha the seeds of what may become one of the most successful agricultural stories of the governorate and a source of pride for local farmers. © Apex Press and Publishing Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Scoop
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
NZ Farmers Slam Methane Madness: 95% Reject Biotech Fix For Livestock
Press Release – NZ Farming Farmers are alarmed that unproven biotech tools threaten New Zealands hard- earned reputation for natural, pasture-raised meat and milk. They see methane inhibitors as risky, intrusive and unnecessarynot just to animal welfare, but to consumer … A major new independent farmer survey reveals overwhelming rejection of New Zealand's current ruminant methane strategy, exposing a deep disconnect between grassroots producers and industry leadership. Key findings: 95% agree reducing livestock methane won't impact global climate change 94% of farmers believe methane cuts should not be a necessary part of market access 93% refuse to use methane inhibitors on their animals 88% wouldn't eat meat or dairy from treated stock Farmers are alarmed that unproven biotech tools threaten New Zealand's hard- earned reputation for natural, pasture-raised meat and milk. They see methane inhibitors as risky, intrusive and unnecessary—not just to animal welfare, but to consumer trust and export advantage. 'There is growing unease about manipulating the gut microbiome of healthy animals. These interventions go against everything our farming systems stand for,' says Duncan Humm of NZ Farming. 'How did we get this far down the track without consulting the very people expected to deliver these changes?' Despite being global leaders in low-emissions food production, farmers feel ignored as unelected boards and bureaucrats push policies without a grassroots mandate. Farmers are now demanding answers: Why were hundreds of millions of dollars spent on methane tools without farmer consultation? Where's the 'farmer' support the industry claims exists? Why did co-ops join AgriZero without asking shareholders? If farmers and consumers don't want these tools, who are they really for—and is compulsion the endgame? Why are our levy bodies so out of touch? The message is clear: Leave our animals alone. Helen Mandeno of Methane Science Accord states: 'Professor David Frame has shown that New Zealand's ruminants might, at worst, contribute four millionths of a degree celsius warming per year. It would take 250,000 years for that to amount to 1 °C.' Ruminant methane is a natural part of the carbon cycle—don't punish farmers and their animals for a crime they didn't commit.
