The Galawater cuts a deep path allowing the A7 to snake up the valley onto Fala Hill, where the landscape opens up, and the traffic spills over into the Lothian's and the Central Belt.  The journey perhaps leaves many frustrated and few take time to absorb or enjoy the steep grazing
and fields; and the geometric blocks of colour held together by miles of dykes.

Stow clings to the main road, a ribbon of development trying to find space on the narrow valley floor which is almost filled by the roadways, the river and the still silent Waverley line.  The village for generations was almost part of the farming community; a mill, blacksmith, shops, church and trades linked into the work on the land.  Today’s world of commuters, supermarkets, ready meals and DVDs is very different.  However the centre of Stow is dominated by rows of machinery, feeders and fresh green tractors, the engineering workshop doors held open by a stream of activity; the village is still very much at the heart of the farming community.  The team at Thomas Sherriff and the John Deere
brand underpin the workload on thousands of Borders acres.

Success is not easily won and more difficult to maintain; it is rooted in the people that drive the business and every day respond to the challenges on farm and in the workshop.

Dave Kellet started his working life as an engineer for Thomas Fairgrieve when the local firm dominated the village; motor engineers, millwrights; agricultural engineers and  electricians.  The small showroom was almost filled by a
vintage green Fordson and the workshops were operating in an era where mechanical linkages not electronic switches activated functions, the diff lock was at the cutting edge of tractor technology and cabs were an option.  The closure of the Fairgrieve family business was a bitter blow for the community and for several weeks the Cockholm Works lay empty.

The doors opened again under the ownership of Thomas Sherriff & Company and Dave Kellet was back at the centre of the workshop team.  Dave set the standards at Sherriff's; always available, never troubled by impossible demands, able to find time to explain or offer advice, the ability to magic a solution when normal options seem outof reach; real customer care.

More than thirty years later, we are in the electronic age, computer management systems and sophisticated transmissions supported by the same level of care.  Dave is still tall with that well worn boilersuit, key in hand, smile and husky voice.  Over the years I have watched or listened as he explained the depressing outlook as his fingers collected fragments of metal from an oiled housing; or eased off a broken bearing to get a machine
operational again or coaxed a fuel starved engine to life.  We laughed about the disasters or highs of farming and enjoyed the characters of Galawater.  But what is more remarkable he has shared similar moments and given the same support to my father and now to my sons Malcolm and Angus.  That family relationship is a tiny part of his reach into Borders farming.

Dave’s working life has spanned an extraordinary 50 years, all but a few days based at the Stow Cockholm Works.  Every day has been about giving his energy, expertise and good humour about being part of a team that is similarly motivated and being very much part of the farming community.  In modern terms Dave is a true professional but in reality he is bigger than that; he is one of the personalities which make farming special. 

Nigel Miller, Stagehall Farm - NFUS president