Brian Burford was presented with a silver bar and long service medal at the Royal Three Counties Show on Friday, June 14th for 50 years continuous employment with the same family.

Brian left school in 1963 and went straight to work for Bill Chinn at Cobrey Farms, Walford. Through the decades, Brian has worked for three generations of the Chinn family, Bill, John and now Henry. He still works full time at the farm carrying out all the ploughing and marking out of potato fields. He has always been very involved with the potato crop and has seen the harvesting transformed from hand picking into bags to fully automated mechanical harvesters.

His first tractor, a Fordson Super Major, had no cab and Brian remembers wrapping up well against the winter weather. Over the years he has had 17 different tractors and he marvels at how technology has moved onto today's air conditioned cabs with suspension and GPS auto-steering.

Brian loves to spend time with his four grandchildren and very much enjoyed showing local children the tractors and combine harvester at the recent Open Farm Sunday.

Brian and his wife Gill had a good day out at the Show, particularly enjoying the vintage machinery displays. An unexpected surprise was receiving the cup for the longest serving employee attending the awards ceremony this year.

For more stories in full please see this week's Ross Gazette.