John Jeffrey
John Jeffrey
John Jeffrey runs two
tenanted farms in
partnership with his father
from Kersknowe, near Kelso
in the Scottish Borders.
Two-thirds of the 730ha
(1800 acres) is arable,
growing seed potatoes, oilseed rape, wheat and
winter and spring barley
AFTER the trials and tribulations of last year this spring has been an absolute pleasure.
Winter crops are all lush, spring cereals are catching up, weve had a good calving with plenty of grass and the potato drills are gunshot straight – well, as straight as my shooting! The whole countryside looks splendid. As father says, it always looks best at this time of year when its wearing a new set of clothes.
With planting finished, cattle out to grass and IACS completed I should be able to head for the golf course happy in the knowledge that everything is looking well and Im lucky to be in such a great profession. Unfortunately, when I get into the office reality kicks in. No matter what figures I feed in to the budgets they all have a negative end result.
Forward prices of nearly all commodities are at an all time low so it seems inconceivable that anyone would want to farm. Yet land prices keep rising. It beats me.
The completion of potato planting heralded the end of an era as the farm steward retired after a lifetimes dedication here at Kersknowe. His value to the farm over the years cannot be overstated and it is a question if his type will ever be seen again. Even after his retirement, the average age of the farm staff is the wrong side of 50 and I am actually the youngest on the place. There is a dearth of young people on farms nowadays with contractors in vogue. But, if we are to keep traditional agricultural skills, then experienced staff such as our retired steward are needed to pass those skills on to the next generation. It would be sad to skill totally replaced by machinery and brute force.
Once upon a time, farm work was a way of life. Now, it is seen purely as an occupation and with moderate wage and mixed working conditions. Who can blame youngsters for heading for the sanctuary of a factory job? *
The youngest man on the farm – thats now John Jeffrey.