A Norfolk farmer is preparing for an emotional sale of machinery amassed during 50 years working the land with his brother - who died just weeks before their long-planned retirement.
Martin Howes will host next week's agricultural auction at Briggate Old Hall Farm in Honing, near North Walsham.
The 71-year-old had been planning his retirement for 10 years with his younger brother David, who died in July at the age of 66.
The family, also including Mr Howes' late older brother John, had farmed the land for more than half a century.
So there will be mixed emotions when their equipment leaves their fields for the final time.
"This has been planned for a long while for us to retire this year, but it [the auction] has really come at an unfortunate time with the death of my brother," said Mr Howes.
"I will feel very emotional about it because my brother and myself always used to make joint decisions.
"All this gear here, we bought it between us. It was my older brother as well - we all farmed together.
"I am the only one left now and I am selling all their stuff off, so I will feel a tinge of sadness on the sale day - but on the other hand there will be relief because I won't have the worry of farming any more.
"Don't get me wrong, I have really enjoyed farming. I love seeing the crops grow and I love the harvest.
"But farming is very turbulent at the moment, and a lot has happened in the last year."
The auction features more than 300 lots from Briggate Old Hall Farm, plus nearly 200 additional lots entered from neighbouring farms in the area.
The sale includes tractors, irrigators, cultivators, spraying equipment, seed drills and a 30-year-old New Holland TX34 combine harvester which has just completed Mr Howes' final harvest.
"I kissed my old girl when she finished combining and said: 'You have done well but I am afraid it is time to go up the road now'," he said.
The farm's 300 acres of rented land will be absorbed back into the Honing Estate, after the Howes family had already sold off their own land at nearby White Horse Common as part of their retirement preparations.
Mr Howes said he wanted to bow out of the agricultural industry while he was still fit enough to pursue other interests.
"My father died at an early age in 1975 - he was in the field riddling potatoes, and he dropped dead in harness," he said. "I don't want to do that, I want to enjoy life a little bit without the worry of farming."
Mr Howes said he was taking a break from work during the winter before deciding what to do next. "I'm open to offers," he added.
He has two daughters - Elizabeth and Emma - with his wife Sue, but both have chosen career paths away from farming.
He said his brother David, whose widow Diana will also benefit from the sale, did not have any children to continue the family business.
"My daughters are a lot wiser than me, they didn't want to go into farming at all," said Mr Howes.
"The trouble with farming now is there are so many rules and regulations, plus the prices of commodities are never steady, they are up and down.
"I have sold winter barley at £300 a tonne this year, which has never been known, but then on the other hand people are talking about the cost of fertiliser going up to £800 or possibly £1,000 a tonne next year.
"So how can a young person coming into agriculture finance that?"
The sale, handled by auctioneers at Arnolds Keys - Irelands Agricultural, takes place from 10.30am on Thursday, September 22, at Briggate Old Hall Farm in Honing, with viewing from 10am-4pm on Wednesday September 21.
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