|
both Chris and Kate ’ s good heads for business , they set about a five-year plan , which you can now see has come to splendid fruition . The farmhouse we sat in is immaculate yet traditional and even has a wonderful conservatory and back garden - not something you usually see in a farmhouse . All the fences have been renewed or repaired , gates installed and water troughs and feeders in every field for the animals . Yards and shed concreted and repaired . The whole property is one of the neatest and tidiest farms I ’ ve seen .
Animals on the farm are all rare breeds from the Oxford Sandy and Black pigs ( nicknamed plum pudding pigs due to their colouring ) to the Herdwick , Hebridean , Kerry Hill and Border Leicester sheep to the vary rare breed of Whitebred Shorthorn cows of which there are only 200 breeding cows in the world ! They also have some Belted Galloways . Chris decided to go for rare breed animals in the main , as these produce some of the best and tastiest meat , plus the fact the size of the farm isn ’ t suitable for a large commercial herd . Chris told me he absolutely loves being able to walk round the entire farm and see and check on his animals at any time .
As we walked around , the animals were inquisitively content and all of them came
|
when beckoned by Chris , that ’ s those who hadn ’ t already walked up to see who the stranger was with Chris .
The initial five-year plan with the farm is now pretty much complete ; on the horizon for next year is to convert part of one of the barns into a tea room for the many walkers and cyclists the area attracts , there is an old separate kitchen area in the farmhouse which will be separated off to provide support facilities for the tea room . There will clearly be some lovely fare to be had at the new tearoom , with all meat coming fresh from the farm !
I have yet to meet a farmer who isn ’ t constantly on the go and doing a whole host of things at once . Chris however takes this and farm diversification to a whole new level with his separate TV career !
As I mentioned briefly at the at the start , he is the judge on Channel 5Star “ Celebs on the Farm ” show . I asked Chris how this came about . As with many of these types of things , really by chance .
About three years ago , Chris was with Skeldale Vets where Julian Norton was practicing , as well as starring in the Channel 5 show , “ The Yorkshire Vet ”. One day Julian turned up at the farm with a film crew and asked if Chris would mind them doing a bit of filming . Being the accommodating chap , he is , Chris said “ Fine ”.
|
They all got along very well , and the producer said if you have anything interesting let us know . To which Chris replied , “ Well I have a sow that needs inseminating , if that ’ s of any interest ?” Which it definitely was .
The crew turned up to film the insemination , this ended up producing one of the funniest episodes of “ The Yorkshire Vet ”, the reason being that in order to inseminate a pig , the farmer needs to sit on the back of the sow , this simulates the action of the pig climbing on , the vet then goes ahead with the process on inseminating . Suffice to say , getting the sow to stay still and have Chris climb on provided a whole host of amusing takes . Following that , they came back to the farm on a number of occasions .
Louise Cowmeadow , who was the series producer and editor , had a call from a friend of hers , Richard Woolfe , who said they were looking for a farmer to be a judge on a new celebrity programme “ Celebs on the Farm ” and could she recommend anyone . She obviously mentioned Chris . She called Chris up who was gobsmacked and said “ Me , I not an actor I ’ m just a farmer !” Louise persuaded him to go and meet with Richard Woolfe and the presenter Stephen Bailey . A week later , Chris was on a farm in Sussex with eight celebs , most of which he didn ’ t know apart from one Lorraine Chase who was very friendly and made him feel welcome . The rest , as they say , is history . Chris has formed friendships with a number of the celebs who have appeared , including Shaun Williamson and Kerry Katona .
As I have alluded to a couple of times , there seem to be some events in Chris ’ s life that definitely need expanding on – farmers proposing in the middle of the Indian Ocean ? What ’ s all that about ? Three wives ? Career changes , walking with celebs and being followed by the paparazzi and - something I haven ’ t mentioned - an affair with a Russian Beauty ?
|
Chris has had some amazing experiences and some great highs , sometimes lurching from one to another but always smiling , however behind all of this there have been some truly dark places he has been . A story well worth telling . So , on the 14th December , Chris ’ s autobiography “ Farming Celebs and Plum Pudding Pigs ” was published by Great Northern Books and is available now ! Both at the Green ’ s store and online . The book was suggested to Chris by friend and author Chris Berry who in conversation one day said , “ You know what Chris , there is a book in all of this .
So the remarkable story about Farmer Chris can be read in full and as Chris has had some very dark moments and knows only too well the loneliness and suicide rate linked to farming , he will be contributing £ 1 from every book sale to the National Suicide Prevention Alliance . For more information about the book see www . farmerchris . co . uk
As Chris said to me , “ Always talk to someone ”. Well it was certainly a pleasure to chat with Chris . You get a sense of his immense pride in what he has achieved with Green ’ s , from its small beginnings to its exalted position today , establishing Spring View Farm and what he has achieved along with Kate in such a short space of time , coupled with that , a whole barrel-load of fun with “ Celebs on the Farm ”.
We wish Chris and Kate continued success and Chris all the best with the book and the TV . The next series of “ Celebs on the Farm ” airs on MTV on the 18th January and features Ashley Tyson ’ s farm in North Yorkshire , Stepney Hill Farm .
|