A farmer with extensive interests in Aberdeenshire and Estonia has died at the age of 85.
As well as a successful farmer and businessman and long-serving Rotarian, Neil Godsman of Cairnfield, Longside, was a noted bon viveur with a cheery word for everyone.
“Neil knew everyone and everyone knew Neil,” said one acquaintance. “He never passed you by and his sense of humour and happy disposition always left you with a smile on your face.”
Beginnings
Neil Godsman took over the family dairy farm of Cairngall following the death of his father in 1966 and retained a field to build his “retirement” home of Cairnfield when he sold the farm in 1996.
But it was far from retirement and he continued to farm around 500-600 acres on a number of nearby farms, both owned and rented, as well as starting farming in Estonia in 1996.
He bought a succession of small farms and accumulated 3,150 acres of arable land with a herd of Aberdeen-Angus cattle imported from Scotland, which has now been expanded to 120 cows and followers.
Most of the land was owned by the descendants of the original owners, who had no interest in farming and were happy to sell.
Ownership was lost when the Soviets took over to create large collective farms but the Russians maintained meticulous records which enabled most of the descendants of the original owners to be traced.
Land improvement
Most of the land was scrub when Neil took over and had to be flailed before ploughing but it is some of the best land in Estonia.
A retired Estonian academic, Professor Hain Kaur, who had come over to Scotland to learn about Scottish farming, was engaged as first manager and was succeeded by one of his former students, Kalle Adler, who continues to manage the farm.
Farming in Estonia was way behind western standards when Neil started with clapped-out Russian-made machinery.
He set modernising the farm and other local farmers soon followed.
Modernisation
Neil was the first in Estonia to have a range of modern European machinery, including an Alfa Laval milking parlour and a reversible plough.
He was the first to swath oilseed rape and the first to have a MacDon swather and MacDon header for the combine harvester.
Neil also imported the first Massey Ferguson 2720 tractors in 1998 and a Matbro telescopic loader.
As there were no dealers or mechanics with relevant experience in Estonia, all spare parts for machinery had to be brought over from Scotland in a suitcase, including a full set of pistons for a Hymac excavator.
He also undertook a 35-hour round trip to Harwich at the age of 74 with his first two Aberdeen-Angus bulls in an Ifor Williams trailer. He was met by Kalle who took the bulls on to Estonia.
Peat business
All this time, he was still busy at home where his main interest, apart from farming, was the family peat business which was started by his grandfather at Tillinamilt, New Pitsligo, in 1907.
Neil went on to buy peat bogs at Lambhill, Craigculter and Redhouse in 1966 and another in Caithness in partnership, and later Blackhills, St Fergus, with a local farmer.
It was – and still is – a big business and in the 1970s was sending as much as 18,000 tonnes of peat a year on boats to fuel community heating schemes in Sweden.
Fuelling whisky
Today their main customer is the Scottish whisky industry to create smoke for the whisky distilling process.
Neil was an acknowledged expert in the mechanics of draining and extruding peat and his expertise was much sought after by peat producers all over the world, including Islay, and as far away as the Falkland Islands.
He also travelled the world attending peat conferences, peat producer association meetings, visiting customers and dealing in machinery.
Loyal staff
His farming and business interests were extensive but he had the happy knack of employing good managers and staff who were largely left to get on with it and were extremely loyal and long-serving.
Neil was never often to be seen on a tractor himself, as the business side of his activities took up so much of his time, but over the last 15 years or so he has enjoyed jumping on a tractor to cart barley or catch up with the ploughing.
Away from business, he was a member of Peterhead Rotary Club for many years with a penchant for raising money for charity, including an annual ploughing match.
Highland Show
He was not a committee man but was a founder member of the potato co-operative, Aberdeen Seed Potato Organisation (ASPO) and served as a director of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland for many years where he was actively involved in several aspects of the Royal Highland Show.
Neil was also a keen member of the diminishing group of farmers, known as the Last of the Summer Wine, who meet every Friday for lunch at the mart at Thainstone.
He and his late wife, Pat, were very keen on accordion and fiddle music and were regular attenders at the Cuminestown Fiddle Club.
Neil was pre-deceased by his wife two years ago. They had no family and he is survived by his brother-in-law and four nephews and a niece.
A service of remembrance for Mr Godsman will take place at Longside Church on Tuesday October 18, when the eulogy will be given by his friend, Robert Lovie.
You can read the formal announcement here.
Conversation