Leaving acting for a return to farming 'saved me'

Harry Churchill started building his herd a year ago

An actor who left drama school to begin working on his family's farm has been nominated for a British farming award after setting up on his own a year ago.

Cattle farmer Harry Churchill, 23, from Hambrook, South Gloucestershire, said moving home during the pandemic and working closely with animals helped him discover where he wanted to be.

"You get a real respect for all of that, and I realised I was becoming a person I didn't want to be while I was an actor. Farming really saved me," he said.

He now runs social media sites from Churchill's Farm, sharing his daily farming life and said being put forward for the award left him "speechless".

Mr Churchill, a fifth-generation farmer, began publishing online content under Churchill's Farm a year ago

Mr Churchill's nomination is in the new entrant against the odds category, which he said reflects him entering the industry at a time when "beef prices are at an all-time high, food prices at an all-time high and cattle prices are through the roof".

As a fifth-generation farmer, his family have been in the industry since 1905 and recently diversified to supply hay and haulage to livery yards.

After deciding to stay in the West Country, he said he thought carefully about "how can I bring the glitz and glam of the West End to the farm".

He bought his first cattle early last year and looked at what others like Jeremy Clarkson were doing before starting to make online content.

He shows what he is doing behind the scenes every day, and said it is "a bit of fun, sometimes I'm singing with the animals and I have a bit of a dance now and then".

He said he is passionate about getting a positive message out about farming, at a time when it has been quite negatively portrayed in the media.

Mr Churchill says the best thing about returning to farming is loving what he does

Mr Churchill will find out if he has won an award in October

Mr Churchill said: "A year in it's amazing. I never thought it would have the following it has, with a steady following on TikTok and Instagram."

While he said he knows there are going to be tough times, he enjoys loving what he does.

"I always wake up smiling and as soon as I see those cows in the field, that's my day sorted," he added.

The national farming awards are taking place on 16 October.