In an era when people can expect to have a number of careers during their lifetime, Suffolk man Ron Smith’s 51 years of service to his local farm seem like a throwback to a bygone age.
Yet the 72-year-old Hollesley resident has been a familiar presence at Wantisden Hall Farms near Butley since he started in June 1971 and has only now decided to retire due to a problem with his hip.
He recalled how life at the farm had changed since he first started, when he would pick the potatoes by hand, load them into boxes and stack them onto lorries to be taken away to be sold.
Now he uses tractors and potato harvesters costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, which do all the harvesting for him, meaning the work is much less physically demanding than it used to be.
The grandfather-of-four, who grew up in Butley, said he planned to visit his brother in Canada during his retirement and spend more time fishing.
He said he would miss the "camaraderie" with his colleagues the most as there were a number of employees at the farm, off Drysdale Bottom, who had worked there for many years.
"They are a good bunch of blokes who work there and nearly everyone gets on nicely. You might get the odd hiccup, but generally everyone gets on fine," he said.
"If you have got a good gang of blokes who get on fine then that is half the work done because everyone mucks in. You were part of a team."
Despite his retirement, he did not plan on "being a stranger" and said he would still visit the farm and help out with the odd job if needed.
Mr Smith used to work in the building trade and decided to join the farm because he needed more regular work than the intermittent employment offered by construction.
Farm manager Tim Pratt said: "We are quite lucky. We have got a number of old stewards to the farm businesses and they have all been there for 60 years each.
"He has taught a lot of the guys coming up through the business how to get on with things.
"He is just a good chap, he is hard working and just gets on with it and does a grand job really."
Bill Kemball, owner of Wantisden Hall Farms, said: "He was always a very enthusiastic and reliable person, very conscientious and a great asset to Wantisden Hall Farms."
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