Tributes flooded in yesterday to Joe Watson, the highly respected farming editor of The Press and Journal, who died suddenly on Thursday evening at his home in Turriff.
His many friends and colleagues in the industry throughout the UK and further afield were left stunned to learn of his death at the tragically early age of 43.
Joe had been in ill-health for some weeks, although it had not stopped him working, but his premature death has come as a shock to us all, not least his widowed mother and two brothers, by whom he is survived, and his colleagues at the Press and Journal.
His loss to the agricultural industry and to this newspaper cannot be overestimated. His coverage of farming in the Press and Journal was widely recognised throughout the country and earned the paper the accolade of the Stuart Seaton Award for the best regional newspaper coverage of agricultural news in Britain.
His strong work ethic, knowledge of the industry, accurate reporting, ability to explain complex matters in understandable terms and, above all, his professionalism in everything he did, won him the respect of readers from government ministers to grassroots farmers anxious to catch up with the latest news in the industry.
He could be abrasive in search of the truth and woe betide anyone who tried to pull the wool over his eyes. He was never less than an objective and dispassionate observer of the industry and could be critical if he felt the situation warranted it.
But, equally, he was prepared to stand up to the supermarkets, for example, if he felt farmers were getting a raw deal as he did with both milk and meat, with a relentless campaign to ensure that the big retailers honoured their promises to stock only Scottish produce.
Joe died on Thursday evening at his home in Turriff where he was recovering from a bout of ill health.
A native of Turriff, where his late father, also Joe, owned Auto Electrical, and his mother, Mirren, was a supply teacher, he attended Turriff Primary School and Turriff Academy, leaving aged 18 to learn his craft as a reporter with the local paper, the Turriff Advertiser.
“As a boy, he wanted to be a policeman, but after getting a radio which enabled him to follow the local ambulance and fire engines, he started submitting reports and photographs to the local paper and that was him hooked on journalism,” said his mother.
He went on to work for both the Press and Journal as a district reporter at Banff and the Dundee Courier at Montrose before becoming editor of the weekly paper, the Mearns Leader, in Stonehaven.
He returned to the Press and Journal as agricultural editor in 1996 at the age of 26 and earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the most prolific and respected agricultural journalists in the country.
He was particularly proud when Saturday’s Farming supplement received a national award last year for the best regional newspaper coverage of agricultural news in Great Britain.
Joe was a former member of Turriff Young Farmers’ Club, where he was actively involved in speechmaking, and the first son of a founder member to become a member of Turriff Round Table, which he eventually had to give up because of work commitments.
“His life was his work,” said Mrs Watson.
He was a keen photographer, a pursuit he latterly adopted professionally for The Press and Journal, along with his writing, and enjoyed travelling, both privately and in the course of his work.
His most recent overseas trip was to Argentina in the autumn for the annual congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.
He is survived by his mother, two younger brothers, Murdo and Fraser, and Fraser’s two children, Joe, 11, and Amy, 6, whom he doted on.
During his 18 years as Press and Journal farming editor, during which time he also acted as business editor for five years, he greatly expanded the paper’s agricultural coverage and authority and took the expansion of Saturday’s Farming supplement last year to 16 pages every weekend in his stride.
He will be greatly missed by his colleagues in the agricultural press corps in Scotland, with whom there is always great banter and rivalry, and by the many friends he made throughout the world during his time as the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists representative on the executive of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.
It is particularly sad that he has not lived to see his “baby”, the annual IFAJ Congress, when it comes to Scotland later this year for the first time since 1981. He was instrumental in getting the congress to come to Scotland, and to the north-east, and has played a big part in the organisation of the event and associated farm tours.
Damian Bates, editor-in-chief of The Press and Journal, said: “We’re all absolutely stunned at the news of Joe’s premature passing.
“He was not only a brilliant journalist who travelled all over Scotland, the UK and Europe to cover farming matters, but he was also a great friend to us all and a really important part of The P&J family.
“Joe was a beautiful human being, a gentle giant and a skilled reporter who knew his subject inside and out.
“I can’t believe he’s been taken from us – we’re all heartbroken.”
Former Press and Journal business editor Ian Forsyth, who worked alongside Joe for more than 20 years, said: “We all knew that Joe’s health hadn’t been the best in recent years, but his passing at such a young age still comes as a major surprise.
“His death is a big loss to Scottish farming. Few people – if anyone – knew more about the industry than him.
“He was a campaigning journalist and his death will leave a big hole in journalistic coverage of Scottish farming.”
Tributes last night included a message from the president of the Austrian guild of farm writers, Josef Siffert, and their IFAJ executive member, Stefan Nimmervoll.
He said: “Our heartfelt sympathies go to the family of Joe Watson.
“We got to know Joe as a very pleasant and committed journalist who always had the development of the IFAJ in mind. With his Scottish demeanour, he was one of IFAJ’s great characters.”
Colleagues in Scotland were struggling to come to terms with Joe’s death yesterday. Dundee Courier farming editor, Ewan Pate, said: “The members of the Scottish agricultural press are a close-knit group who often hunt as a pack.
“When it came to asking the difficult questions and winkling out the truth, no one was as determined as Joe. That was a mark of his professional approach to journalism as was his willingness to criss-cross the country in search of a good story.
“We often travelled together and he was always the best of company, making even the longest journey seem short.”
Deputy editor of the Scottish Farmer, Ken Fletcher, said: “He won many awards for both his news reporting and his campaigning style, championing agriculture in the north-east.”