It’s springtime at Cotswold Farm Park, and BBC’s Countryfile presenter Adam Henson is welcoming some new arrivals as he reflects on a difficult few years for farmers
In an optimistic update from his Cotswold Farm Park, Countryfile’s Adam Henson has shared an update on how new arrivals have allowed his business to flourish. The star shared: “We open the Cotswold Farm Park in mid-February because that’s when we welcome the first new arrivals of the year,” he explains, “families just love to see our live lambing demonstrations.”
Writing fondly about the arrival of spring lambs, Adam adds: “The birth of new little lives, both lambs and goat kids, will continue to captivate audiences in the Animal Barn throughout the Easter holiday.”
Visitors to the popular attraction, sited at the 650-hectare Bemborough Farm in Gloucestershire, can see over 50 flocks and herds of rare breed animals, enjoy the “Ox Shed” café, and visit the interactive animal barn.
Adam says he’s grateful that Easter came comparatively early this year because, as he writes in Cotswold Life: “it’s impossible not to have noticed what a tough time the hospitality industry has been going through since the pandemic.”
Adam has previously spoken out about how difficult it’s become to run a farm in the 21st Century, as he admitted “we won’t make money” from the farming side of the business. He took over the tenancy for the Cotswold Farm Park from his dad Joe in 1999. Joe made history after opening the farm to the public in 1971, making it the first of its kind.
While that part of the business helps keep the farm afloat, Adam revealed “it is not easy” to make money out of arable farming, after last year’s “horrible spring” had a negative impact.
Speaking to BBC’s Farmwatch, he said: “It’s very difficult in arable farming at the moment. Out of straight arable farming in 2025 we won’t make money.
“The spring has been horrible, the crops aren’t going to yield, prices are low for the commodity prices of the grain we’re likely to be able to sell.
“So the margins don’t look positive. In general, the farming side of the business is not easy to make money from.”
Adam says that he does his best to make his farm wildlife-friendly, despite the effect that wild birds can have on growing crops: “In books and TV nature programmes, the stars of the Dawn Chorus are garden visitors such as robins, blue tits and chiffchaffs,” he says, “But farmland birds also get in on the act including some of the species I’ve been championing for years and doing my best to conserve.”
He explains: “Since the 1970s we’ve lost more than 70 million wild birds in the British Isles and seen a drop of more than 60 per cent in the farmland bird population.
“I’ve certainly found that nature-friendly farming plays an important role in halting the decline and on our north Cotswold farm we’re now seeing and hearing lapwing, redwing, fieldfare and golden plover on a regular basis. Along with yellow hammer, corn bunting and skylark, they’re indicators of a healthy, bio-diverse environment.”
Adam landed his role on Countryfile in 2001 and has remained on the BBC show ever since.
This has led to other opportunities with the BBC, including working on Radio 4’s On Your Farm and Farming Today, as well as presenting Lambing Live and Gardeners’ World. He also starred on Nigel and Adam’s Farm Kitchen with Nigel Slater.
Despite his long and successful media career, though, Adam has said that he sees it as a stroke of luck that could come to an end at any time: “I still have to pinch myself,” he revealed to WhatToWatch.com. “The media world is very fickle, though, and I know they’ll drop me one of these days. But I’ll just get back to being a farmer full time, which is fine by me.”
