Farmers Weekly Awards 2015: Farmworker of the Year
© Tim Scrivener Roger Knibbs
Adstockfields Farm, Buckingham
It is not unusual for farmworkers to stay with a single employer for two, three or even four decades. But there can’t be many people who retain the unwavering skill, energy and enthusiasm of Roger Knibbs over a period of almost 50 years.
Roger has seen a lot of changes at the Nicholson’s Adstockfields Farm near Buckingham. The three original dairy herds set up in the 1970s were wound down in 2010 and the main business is now growing arable crops.
Plus there’s an important new grain-processing business that involves drying and cleaning up loads that would otherwise be rejected by millers and maltsters. Meanwhile, the land work is now all done by local contractor PS Matthews.
Farmworker Roger Knibbs has been involved with the farm right from the start. His original plan was to become an apprentice at the Ford plant in Essex (this was before it became New Holland).
Farm facts
- Dairy herd set up in the 1970s wound down in 2010; main business is now arable
- New grain-processing business involves drying and cleaning up loads that would otherwise be rejected
- Land work is now all done by local contractor
But just before he started work he broke his leg in a motorbike accident. So he started on the farm in 1968 as a general farmworker and cowman, following in his father’s footsteps.
See all the winners and pictures from the night on our Farmers Weekly Awards page.
He was, by all accounts, something of a tearaway in those days and well known in the area for riding around on big motorbikes. But his technical knowledge, helpfulness and enthusiasm have been absolutely unwavering over the years.
“You might think that he would be slowing down a bit but, if anything, it’s the opposite,” says farmer and manager Jo Nicholson.
“Despite being a grandfather and having one leg three inches shorter than the other [thanks to the motorbike accident], he still gets up at 4.30am every morning and runs everywhere.”
Setting up the 7,500t grain-cleaning business as well as the 40t/hour drier has been a big (and pretty fraught) project, says Mr Nicholson, and Roger has been absolutely central to its smooth running.
It is a complicated system and he had to use all his vast experience and skills (especially in sorting things such as conveyor speeds) to get the whole thing to work properly.
He also co-ordinated the selling of the dairy herd, the purchasing of a beef herd and the conversion of the buildings from their existing use to their new role.
Winning ways
- His energy – he still gets up at 4.30am and runs everywhere to get more done
- His deep technical knowledge of the farm and all its many workings
- He is the man who gets you out of a fix if something has gone wrong
But no one is immortal (and anyway he has three children and seven grandchildren to organise) and Roger and the farm have jointly agreed a 10-year handover plan.
It won’t be easy, though, since every worker, contractor and lorry driver in the area has Roger’s mobile number on their speed dial and relies on him to sort out any problems.
Walk around the farm with Roger and you notice that you keep falling behind him – he just moves too quickly.
He’s not one for hanging around, but he doesn’t skimp on things either.
“I’ve never missed a single day in all the years,” he says.
“Most people sit on the sofa when they get to their 60s, but that won’t be me. My father used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day but I’ve never smoked or drunk.
“When I went to the well-man clinic they said they had never seen such a healthy man. The only bad side is that, if we’re going to the pub, I’m always the designated driver.”
Finalists
Matt Johnson
Newhouse Farm, Winchester, Hampshire
Matt came to work at Ian Cammack’s 530ha mainly arable farm in 2006 as a harvest student.
He does regular tasks such as drilling, combining, putting on fertiliser, plus machinery maintenance and managing the 90-head sheep flock.
Peter Little
SRUC Crichton Royal Farm, Dumfries
Peter has been working at SRUC for almost 30 years and has seen cow numbers head from the current 500 to a proposed 800.
As well as day-to-day work, he deals with much of the paperwork and shows groups of children round the farm.
Sponsor’s message
“All three of the finalists in the Farmworker of the Year category had very different roles. But what characterised all of them was their hard work, technical skills, unstoppable energy and impressively can-do attitude to the job”
William Brown, general manager, Isuzu UK