Obituary: Jim Jeffrey, OBE, DL, farmer, stock breeder and Deputy Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale

During a lifetime at the forefront of the Scottish livestock industry, Jim Jeffrey,of Kersknowe, Kelso, not only was a stalwart of one of the country’s long-established sheep breeds but also helped transform the UK beef cattle sector with the introduction of Continental breeds. It was perhaps inevitable he should be deeply involved with Border Leicester sheep as both his father and grandfather had been breed presidents and the family farm of Deuchrie was and is the home of the oldest registered flock. In due course, Jim followed his forefathers in becoming breed president.

Jim was committed to sheep breeding at an early age as his schooling at Dunbar High was cut short following the death of the farm shepherd. It was quickly made clear to the 14- year-old that it was his responsibility to come home to take over the shepherding duties.

Later in life he would remark that he was born to be a shepherd and he confirmed this by daily tending of his flock right up to the last days of his life.

His first attendance at Kelso tup sales came in 1942 when he helped sell the Deuchrie pen. His unbroken link with this event culminated last September when he was accorded the honour of being the first non-Border Union secretary to ring the bell announcing the start of the multi-ring sheep-selling jamboree.

He was also a long-time supporter of the Half Bred sheep sale at St Boswells and on his return home from this annual event he would add his sale catalogue to the 200-year plus pile started by his grandfather and continued by his father.

He was far from being a traditionalist in his approach to cattle. In the early 1960s, he viewed the native breeds as being too small and was among the first to import Charolais cattle. Despite not speaking any French, he managed to buy top quality stock on his many visits to the homelands of the breed in France.

His ability to pick and breed good beasts was soon demonstrated when one of his first bulls, Kersknowe Festival, was sold to the Scottish Milk Marketing Boards AI unit at Scone for 10,000 guineas (£10,500). For traditionalists, this was a controversial purchase. They objected to spending so much money on a foreign breed.

Festival not only established his Kersknowe herd’s reputation for top quality stock but also laid the foundation for the Charolais breed nationwide with his semen helping to produce thousands of top quality cattle including several champions at the Royal Smithfield Show in London.

While initially Jim had dabbled with other Continental breeds, they did not last at Kersknowe as he fully committed to the Charolais breed. This included a stint as breed president at a time the big white- coated cattle were becoming dominant in the UK.

His reputation as a top breeder of both cattle and sheep and innate fairness saw him being asked to judge all around the country, including at all the Royal Shows. It was a standing joke in the family that the destinations for summer holidays were determined by where Jim would be carrying out judging duties. National recognition for his contribution to the Scottish livestock sector came in 2002 when the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society awarded him the Sir William Young award; their top honour. This followed the award of an OBE a few years earlier, again for his contribution to the livestock sector.

In his personal life, he had met and married Margaret Young, a farmer’s daughter from Turnhouse Farm, in 1953. They had moved from Deuchrie to Kersknowe in 1958 and it was there they raised their family of four; three daughters, Lizzie, Judy, Susie and a son, John.

Unusually for a noted livestock breeder, Jim was also an enthusiastic and able arable farmer, especially in the growing of potatoes. Riddling out the crop, picking out any diseased or mis-shapen spuds, is often considered one of the more boring jobs on the farm but Jim would stand day-in day-out at the grader ensuring Kersknowe always sold good samples. He was also interested in the marketing of the crop and helped set up a co-operative, Scott Country Potatoes, to improve the returns he and fellow producers would get from their potatoes.

With his high reputation as a practical farmer Jim was in demand as an agricultural arbiter working with Border Valuers helping to solve disputes on rent and other vexatious issues that beset the farming industry. Jim was also involved in farming politics, serving as president of the Borders Area of the NFU and doing a stint as livestock convener. His lifetime’s interest in livestock saw him become a director of the Animal Disease Research Association; now known throughout the livestock world as the Moredun Research Institute.

Jim’s commitment to his home area and recognition of his standing came when he was confirmed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale

His personal life was disrupted in 2000 when Margaret died. As a typical farmer of his era prior to her death he had never ventured into the kitchen to cook. But far from reverting to ready-made meals and carry-outs, he learned to cook. So enthusiastic did he become that he ended up not only advising his daughters how to cook but also, more bravely, his daughter-in-law.

After seeing how to do it on TV, his signature dish became roast lamb in a bed of hay. All did not go well on the first trial as his gas cooker with a bare flame ignited the hay. The fire engine was called but by the time it arrived, there was a charred but not roasted leg of lamb. That cooking problem was sorted and one of the joys of his later life was entertaining friends at dinner.

He never played rugby but his great friend the late Charlie Stewart played for Scotland. The pair of them and their spouses played bridge every weekend for 40 years. Early in this card-playing fixture Charlie appeared one evening with a broken leg after an accident playing rugby and he was signed off from work for a couple of months. It was then that Jim exclaimed that no son of his would ever play the game; a statement undermined totally when son John, alias the White Shark not only played 40 times for Scotland but went on to play for the British Lions. Jim watched many of those games with great pride. His own non-farming recreations included curling, where he was a keen competitor at the local ice rink. He also described his bridge-playing as “social but with a winning mentality” or, put another way, he neither suffered fools nor slow play.

When he reached his 90th birthday, his family persuaded him to have a big party. Privately, he told his family that this party would serve as his wake with the actual event, whenever it came, being restricted to family members.

The party went well. Later he confessed that not many people were as fortunate as to enjoy their own wake. True to his word, it was family only at the funeral where his two grandsons piped in his coffin.

Despite a heart attack a few years ago, he was active to the end of his life with twice daily visits to the farm in his little pick-up to feed his ram lamb and check John was doing things correctly.

Jim Jeffrey lived his life to the full with “the four fs” guiding him. Asked what were the four fs, he would reply: “Family, farming, friends and fun.”

ANDREW ARBUCKLE