Three B.C. farmers are about to pick the romantic partners they hope to grow a future with on the season finale of CTV’s Farming for Love.
The reality TV show wraps its second season on July 31 at 10 p.m. PT with farmers Kirkland and Josh, both from the Chilliwack area, and Mischa from Lillooet making their final matches. (Last names are not used in the show to protect privacy.)
The season began with four B.C. farmers and seven “daters,” but one farmer, Erin of Creston, decided during Episode 6 to send her remaining contenders home so she could pursue a relationship exclusively with a contestant named Jared. (Production reports the pair are still together.)
During the show, each farmer invites five romantic hopefuls to their respective farms with the aim of finding a match. One potential partner is eliminated each week.
Like the usual reality TV format, cameras follow the farmers and daters as they get to know one another. And, in some cases, really get to know each other.
“At first, it is almost a little overwhelming. But before you know it, you’re making out with someone and 10 people are watching,” said Josh, a 27-year-old dairy farmer, during a recent Zoom conversation with Kirkland and Postmedia.
But like life on a farm, things happen — and you just have to roll with it.
“You get so used to it,” said Kirkland, a 35-year-old cattle farmer/horse boarder, about the cameras. “(But) when (the crew) all left the farm just felt so quiet.”
Farming for Love is based on the long-running international hit Farmer Wants a Wife. First produced in the U.K. in 2001, Farmer Wants a Wife has expanded to 34 countries. According to the production, the series boasts 222 weddings (195 still together) and 555 kids, with 14 more on the way.
In the first season of Canada’s Farming for Love, five farmers searched for a match. Out of that crop, one couple (Doug and Meghan) are still together.
“The series captures real vulnerability and the roller-coaster of emotions that occur on this exciting journey,” said Erin Haskett, executive producer and the president of Lark Productions. “It is also a love letter to our hard-working, diverse group of Canadian farmers. And B.C.’s captivating landscapes.”
Haskett says audience reaction to this season’s love stories has been phenomenal.
“The fans have their favourite couples that they are rooting for,” Haskett says. “And they aren’t afraid to tell us.”
As for getting any pre-finale secrets from the farmers, their barn doors were shut tight.
Neither Josh or Kirkland would offer up any scoops or hints as to their final choices. Though both say lots of people have tried to get them to spill the beans while the series has been running.
“A neat part of the whole thing is hearing outside perspectives of what people are thinking, and what they’re seeing and kind of putting it together with what you actually experienced on the show yourself,” said Josh, who has hosted friends and family for weekly viewing sessions. “I’m also a sales rep for a crop input company, so I’m seeing tons of farmers all the time. It’s pretty hilarious talking to these usually big, grizzled guys and they’re talking about a reality dating TV show. And telling me who I should be picking and all that.”
Kirkland has also heard a lot of opinions from people during the season. But the Cheam First Nation member is not letting anything slip.
“My dad just came home and he’s on council, chief on council, on the reserve, and he said everybody at the band office is placing bets. And they all think this way or that way. I get a lot of that,” said Kirkland, who is the first gay farmer to take part in the CTV series.
“What I get all the time is well, ‘Are you happy? Are you happy?’” added Kirkland. “Tune in to find out.”
Kirkland says one of the reasons he sought out Farming for Love was that he wanted to widen his dating options. As he says in the show: “Chilliwack is famous for its corn, not its gay men.”