I am shocked and saddened by the abrupt passing of Joe Watson. He is one of many agricultural journalists Cindy and I have come to know and love around the world through our participation in IFAJ.

This is a photo of yours truly with Joe during the closing banquet at last year’s IFAJ Congress in Argentina. Joe was dressed in full kilt and toasted us with some good scotch whiskey as he helped promote this year’s Congress in Scotland. Needless to say we were having a good time. I could have posted a different photo buy I’d rather remember Joe with that big grin. I absolutely loved his sense of humor. Some people have said he could be grumpy. I can believe it but I most often saw a serious journalist who loved his work and was a real down to earth person. If Cindy and I can attend this year’s IFAJ Congress we will greatly miss Joe as I know all of our members who knew him will.

Here’s some information about Joe:

Joe was a former Chairman of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists and currently the organisation’s executive representative to the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ). Joe had been the hard-working agricultural editor of the Press & Journal in Aberdeen since 1996.

Jane Craigie, the president of the British guild says: “It is because of Joe we are hosting in Scotland. It’s tragic that he will not be able to enjoy it. He was actively involved in organising one of the tours to Philip Benzie, Gregor Mackintosh and Maxwells farms. His was a great character, a prolific writer, he was often controversial but he was always proud of his principled stand; he had the courage of his convictions and he was a better journalist for it. We will miss him, his sense of humour and his input greatly. Joe won the P&J the Stuart Seaton award for the best farming content in a regional newspaper, an accolade that he proudly shared on his Farming pages in the Saturday Farming supplement”.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this extremely sad and difficult time.