Kaleb Cooper pays emotional tribute to ‘role model who was always there for me'

Kaleb Cooper has issued an emotional tribute to his 'role model who was always there for him' in his newly released book, It's A Farming Thing.

Hitting shelves this week, it is the latest publication from the popular farmhand who has become a household name since starring in Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime Video.

Appearing across all three seasons, he has worked with Jeremy on his 1,000-acre Diddly Squat Farm where he has a good habit of putting right the former Top Gear man's wrongs.

And with season four of the show around the corner - as well as Cooper having a new show on Amazon Prime this winter - the 26-year-old father-of-two is set to continue with his media career alongside his real passion of farming.

Cooper's book sees the opinionated farmer gives his thoughts on a tonne of topics, from fashion to sheep to the weather and nutrition.

He also opens up on his personal life and the struggles that many of us face when we become parents.

Addressing his own parents getting divorced when he was a child is also a poignant moment.

And it is in these passages that Cooper opens up on how farming saved his life, alongside a role model outside of his parents who guided him on his journey before saying a final farewell three years ago.

Kaleb Cooper's new book, It's A Farming Thing (Quercus)

"My mum and dad split up when I was 12 years old, and it was a tricky divorce," he writes.

"I felt like I was in the middle of it. I stepped up at a very young age. Maybe I grew up too quickly.

"I'm 25 yeas old but I've got two kids and a 40 year old mind. But if the farming buy didn't catch hold of me the way it did, I think I'd probably have been a complete a***hole.

"I was lucky to have a great role model: my grandpa, my mum's dad, Michael Smith. I look up to Gramp like I've never looked up to anyone else.

"He passed away in 2021 but I think everything I do, even now, is to please and impress him. He worked incredibly hard."

Kaleb with his grandad (Kaleb Cooper / It's A Farming Thing / Quercus)

Cooper adds: "He was always there to provide and make sure none of his family had to worry. So when I went out farming, for me to see his face and hear him say - 'well done, Kaleb!' - that meant more to me than anything."

When Cooper announced his new book earlier in 2024, he took to Instagram to dedicate the project to his maternal grandfather.

He said in the video: "I've got a new book coming out later this year, it's called It's A Farming Thing, it's available on Amazon, and it's all about farming.

"And this book definitely means something a little bit to me, something special and it touches my heart because it's dedicated to my granddad, who passed away two years ago, and he meant absolutely everything.

"He was my rock, he was my drive, and that's why I drive and work so hard these days, I think, because I want to basically take over the world as a young person."

You can buy It's A Farming Thing by Kaleb Cooper in stories now (RRP £20).