It is the end of an era at Southesk Farms, Brechin, with two long-serving members of staff on the point of retiring.
Ian Stephen, who has worked on what is one of the largest arable operations in Angus, retires today after 47 years.
Colleague Eddie Cheyne retires at the end of the year after 42 years.
Their remarkable total of just short of 90 years’ experience will be hard to replace, admitted Southesk Farms manager Neil MacLeod. “I will miss them both very much, and it has been a real privilege to work with them,” he said.
When Ian started at Southesk’s Powis farm he drove a Massey Ferguson 165 Multi Power.
When Eddie started at Mains of Farnell he was allocated a Ford 4000, the only one of the brand in an otherwise all MF fleet.
Each tractor would muster less than 60hp in stark contrast to the Fendt, John Deere and Claas giants they now drive. The Claas Xerion leads the field at 380hp.
When the pair started work at Southesk in the 1960s and 1970s the farm staff numbered at least 20.
“Now there are three and a half of us in the arable team, with me making up the half, and such is the variety and complexity of the work that I prefer to think of the men as arable operators rather than tractormen.
“Both Eddie and Ian have taken all the changes in their stride and have been remarkably adaptable.”
Ian, who has just turned 68, said: “The changes have been huge but they have been slow and over a long number of years.
“The first combine I drove was a 12ft-cut Massey Ferguson 525, and in recent harvests it has been a 40ft Claas Lexion 770TT.
“The new combine has laser guidance and cruise control, and I would say it is actually easier to drive than the old Massey.”
Apart from combine driving, Ian’s main tasks have included tractor driving and spraying with trailed and self-propelled machines.
Eddie, who will shortly be 65, drives the grain drill and was busy sowing winter oats when The Courier visited earlier this week.
His other speciality, and one in which he takes great pride, is digger driving. Southesk Farms have a 180-degree digger and a 360-degree tracked digger, and Eddie has spent every winter cleaning ditches and replacing drains.
Southesk Farms covers 4,000 acres in total between Montrose and Brechin and has every type of soil, from the heaviest clay to the lightest sand and Eddie knows every acre, and exactly how it is drained.
The farms grow cereals and oilseed rape using a mixture of minimum tillage and ploughing depending on circumstances, with every modern technology brought into play.
Potato land is rented out to Carnoustie- based Farmcare, and pea land is rented out to East Coast Viners.
The other main enterprise is covered soft fruit, with around 300 tonnes of strawberries and five tonnes of blueberries produced under the supervision of a full-time production manager and a field supervisor, with seasonal labour employed for the harvesting period.
It is a diverse and large-scale business, and one which Eddie and Ian have played a full part in developing over the years.
Eddie is to move from his home at Mains of Farnell to Brechin and intends to play more bowls in his retirement.
Ian moved from Powis to Hillside 20 years ago and intends to spend more time following his beloved Aberdeen FC.
Neil faces the unenviable task of finding replacements for this hard-working and skilled duo.
On a personal note, I had the pleasure of working with both these men when we were all part of the Tayside Growers pea vining group in the 1970s and 1980s.
It was very good to spend time with them this week and reminisce about our adventures.
I wish them all the best for the future.