Reuben Owen: "I definitely want to carry on farming and I appreciate it more since I have not been around the farm as much"

The latter part of Reuben Owen’s teenage life were spent on the TV screen, appearing in one of the most watched farming shows in recent years. Now, the young farming star has set out on his own journey. Emily Ashworth finds out more

clock • 4 min read
Reuben Owen: "I definitely want to carry on farming and I appreciate it more since I have not been around the farm as much"

In 2018, the nation was captivated by one of Yorkshire's most famous farming families, the Owen family. 

The iconic TV programme, Our Yorkshire Farm, featuring Amanda and Clive Owen and their brood of nine children, showcased for the first time in November 2018, and it immediately catapulted them all into the limelight.

Viewers were hooked on watching the family live out their daily farming life at Ravenseat, a traditional hill farm in the Yorkshire Dales. 

One of the stars of the show though, was son Reuben Owen, who has gone onto to build his own social media following and start his own groundwork and plant-hire business, all of which was documented in his own TV show, Life in the Dales, which aired earlier in the year. 

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At just 20 years-old, he has, for the past six years, lived life in the public eye on and off screen – one of the country's most iconic walks, the Coast-to-Coast path, runs through the family farm and, given their TV success, there was always someone passing by.

"I always enjoyed it on camera with my parents," he says. 

"You get to meet an amazing mix of people – just yesterday I was in the yard, and someone recognised me. You can learn all sorts. 

"But up here, it is a different way of farming. 

"There are smaller farms and the land is different to that further down the country."

He could often be seen with his overalls on, tinkering with some sort of machine and he further pursued this passion, going on to Myerscough college to take on a land-based engineering course. 

He also did an apprenticeship with Taylor and Braithwaite and, after finishing, he was encouraged by his father, Clive, who told him to buy is own machine.

Although he still farms at home, before and after work, he has managed to build his business and find his own niche.

"I enjoy the mechanic side," he says.

READ NOW: Our Yorkshire Farm star Reuben Owen launches new series exploring his machinery business

"I get asked a lot by young people who are wanting to get in to [the industry].

"If you are keen, there are places for you. 

"There is a lot of interest at the moment and you should get on and have a go." 

One of his current jobs is helping to level a field on ground higher up, before it gets reseeded and his work allows him to be part of the community he grew up in. 

He also employs local ‘farm lads' while, he says, also roping in his family.

But the business's success is partly down to networking and making connections. 

He says: "We have not been going very long, but it is about the amount of people you know.

"We are doing what people have always done – we are just doing it with something bigger. 

"For years people have taken rough land and made it better to produce food.

"Instead of using horses and shovels, we have a big digger."  

Home is still, it seems, where the heart is and being able to balance the business with helping with the farm at Ravenseat is something he enjoys.

It is in his blood after all, as he jokes that his ‘dad still drags me back home'.

Like Reuben says, it is a beautiful part of the world – Ravenseat spans 2,000 acres at the top of Whitsun Dale in Swaledale and is one of the most remote and highest hill farms in the country.

He says: "I like going up on the fell gathering. 

READ NOW: The historic art of sheep gathering and shearing

"My two jobs work well together and by the time you have spent a week sitting on a digger, it is lovely to go home and chase some stock around. There is still a lot of sheep. 

"I would not go anywhere else. I love it here."

He found further stardom earlier in the year, after his Channel 5 programme, Life in the Dales, was received well by the public, showcasing the start-up of his business and life as a youngster in the area.

There are rumours series two is coming, but Reuben says people will just have to keep an eye out. 

With continued interest in what he is up to, what exactly is it that people want to know about rural life?

"It is a different way of life in this neck of the woods and people do not see it," he says.

"I am sure if I was put in their world, I would find that very different." 

Reuben is quite happy out in the middle of nowhere, taking opportunities as they come – plans, he says, are never stuck to. 

Growing the business is, of course, key, but farming always makes its way back into the conversation.

"My ultimate goal, once I have enough diggers going, is to have my own farm around here," he says. 

"I definitely want to carry on farming and I appreciate it more since I have not been around the farm as much. 

"It is lovely; it is the place I want to be." 

WATCH NOW: The Farmers Guardian podcast: Reuben Owen and life in the Yorkshire Dales

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