A top trailer maker has come to the rescue of TV presenter Matt Baker as part of a new series documenting his ambitious journey to save his family\u2019s sheep farm.<\/p>\n
Matt Baker: Our Farm in the Dales, soon to be aired on More4, follows the Countryfile and former The One Show presenter as he returns to his parents\u2019 organic sheep farm in the Durham hills to make vital changes that will help secure it for future generations.<\/p>\n
The popular presenter, who uses a trusty Ifor Williams Trailers livestock trailer throughout filming, was spurred into action after his mother, Janice, 65, was injured when some of their pedigree flock of Hampshire Down sheep crashed into her, just as she was preparing for shearing.<\/p>\n
Despite suffering a broken leg and injuries which forced her to have a knee replacement, Janice was determined to continue farming.<\/p>\n
Over four 60-minute episodes, viewers will follow Matt, his wife Nicola and their two children, Luke, 13, and Molly, 11, as they head north to restock the remote farm that dates back to the 17th<\/sup> century with more suitable breeds to reduce the future upkeep burden on his parents.<\/p>\n Matt travels across the UK towing a 10\u2019x7\u2019 TA5 Ifor Williams livestock trailer, collecting 10-12 sheep at a time.<\/p>\n The journey takes him to the Lake District where he sources Herdwicks, the Scottish Borders to buy Cheviots and a farm in Snowdonia in North Wales where he collects Black Welsh Mountain shearlings.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mum has always been a shepherdess. I\u2019ve grown up with her doing that. We could never have persuaded her to do otherwise – it was always going to be the sheep!\u201d explained Matt, 43.<\/p>\n \u201cReally we are securing the future of the breeding stock on the farm in a way that mum will be able to cope in the winter time on the hill. That really is the whole premise of the show.<\/p>\n \u201cIt comes to a point where you start looking after your parents like they looked after you. Farming is such a generational thing anyway and the changes we were making to help mum and dad will be there for my children in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n During filming, Matt took his children along to help choose the breeding stock he hopes they might run in the future.<\/p>\n The trips were long and arduous \u2013 but Matt could not fault his new Ifor Williams Trailer which lived up to its reputation for quality.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a fantastic trailer. Actually, it\u2019s the first Ifor Williams trailer I\u2019ve bought and I\u2019m absolutely delighted, I love it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI love towing it – it\u2019s so smooth it\u2019s incredible. From the Durham Dales to Snowdonia is a long way. To go there and come back was brilliant. I wasn\u2019t afraid to reverse it on camera! It reverses well. I relished it. I love trailers anyway and I\u2019ve been very impressed with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rob Small, Head of Sales at Ifor Williams Trailers, said the TA5 was the perfect choice for Matt\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are delighted Matt turned to Ifor Williams Trailers to support his exciting plans for the family farm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIfor Williams\u2019 livestock trailers are the mainstay of farms up and down the country, often outlasting the vehicles that tow them and becoming members of the family in their own right!<\/p>\n \u201cFor more than 60 years, farmers have put their trust in our trailers and the Bakers can rest assured their new livestock trailer will be there, by their side, for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite a successful television career, Matt has never left the farming life behind and played an active role on his parents\u2019 farm, even before his mum\u2019s accident.<\/p>\n He also keeps sheep at his own farm, an hour outside of London, and credits his wife\u2019s hard work and care for allowing him to combine the perfect rural life with his television career.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife and I have never ever lived together without having sheep! She\u2019s brilliant with all the animals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The new series marks a further achievement for the presenter as it has been created by his own production firm, Big Circus Media.<\/p>\n This was one of the main reasons why he felt so comfortable allowing his family to be filmed for the first time and offering viewers such a personal insight into his life.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have all been executive producers and if they don\u2019t want anything in, it doesn\u2019t go in!\u201d said Matt, who now faces a mammoth editing task to condense the footage into four programmes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is without doubt the most personal TV show I\u2019ve ever made. Filming on the farm where I grew up with my whole family has been a wonderful and unique experience.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also my producing and directorial debut with our new production company so it couldn’t be more personal.<\/p>\n \u201cA huge thank you to Sean Doyle at More4, it\u2019s amazing what can happen from a conversation in a barn\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n The farm, which is inhabited by a whole array of other animals including miniature donkeys, pygmy goats, chickens and a litter of Cairn Terrier pups that arrive during filming, now boasts a variety of small nucleus flocks ready for breeding, with the three-year-old Herdwicks already lambing this spring.<\/p>\n The plan is to reduce the number of Hampshire Downs, which are a lowland sheep requiring a lot of care and attention, while continuing with the farm\u2019s existing Hebridean sheep that are well-suited to high ground and building a more sustainable future with the new flocks.<\/p>\n Sean Doyle, Deputy Head of Formats & Features at Channel 4:\u00a0\u201cWe are delighted that Matt\u00a0and his family will be opening to the doors to their\u00a0beautiful rural\u00a0farm on More4.<\/p>\n \u201cThe series is a warm, funny,\u00a0and\u00a0often\u00a0emotional look at what it takes for a\u00a0close-knit\u00a0family,\u00a0ably assisted by\u00a0an eclectic mix of animals, to pull together in the face of adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n Gareth Collett, Executive Producer for Big Circus Media:\u00a0\u201cSaving his family farm is going to be a long project for Matt but he\u2019s got some great plans to give the land he grew up on a brilliant future. It\u2019s wonderful that More4 have supported us in being able to share the start of this journey with their audience.\u201d<\/p>\n