In Memoriam John Burden
Dr. John L. Burden, a plant pathologist who was active in our industry for many years, sadly passed away on Wednesday 17 February in South Milford, England, after a short struggle with cancer at the age of 74.
John first became interested in mushrooms while working in the R&D site of Country Kitchen Foods based at Langford on their Gatcombe site. At that time the company had several other farms across the southern counties at Market Harborough and at Woodbridge in Suffolk. John worked then with Dr Bob Ross when they were looking at the French virus problems around at that time. During those early years the group was acquired by the Darlington Group and was then called Blue Prince Mushrooms owned by Heinz. This included other growing farms at Bradford on Avon, a cave farm, at Poling and Horley in Sussex, Woking in Surrey and also the compost yard at Yateley in Surrey which supplied those last 3 farms with phase I compost. This site at Langford was taken over by Middlebrook Mushrooms based in Yorkshire in the mid-eighties and in 1985 John then went up to work at their Gateforth Park farm, where he was also involved with the R&D being done there which included bulk Phase III tunnels and spigot floored bunkers.
During that period, he also took on a lease of a 6 roomed shelf farm growing mushrooms as well as operating a lab which did analysis for what was then a multitude of small to medium sized growers still making their own compost, as a well as those commercial composting operations still operating in those days. Middlebrook was eventually acquired by Monaghan which after some years moved their operations away from that site.
Global problemsolver
He started Mushroom Advice & Analysis while operating the lab at Gateforth Park which meant he could also provide a pest and disease service to the industry as well. Eventually John managed to buy his property in South Milford and built his own 6 room shelf farm there and in time also moved his lab there.
His great experience and dedication to solving problems led him to become a respected expert in this field and led to him helping growers from all over the world.
The CEO of Malard mushrooms first met John in 1995 at the Mushroom Congress in Oxford. From that point John started consulting the farm in Iran along with his team and contributed to many improvements in the business. Perhaps he was the first person who introduced and firmly established the benefits of consultancy for mushroom farms in Iran. John was also a member of the Mushroom Panel organised through the HDC where funding for new research projects was decided. He also did bio aerosol work of the Environmental Agency on municipal waste sites where recycling and composting of things like garden waste were taking place so as to ensure their compliance to the regulations. Latterly he was also busy working with the composting of Palm Oil Mill wastes steams in an effort to make those plantations zero waste, as well as achieve a sustainable status in countries such as Indonesia and Columbia.
Dr Burden will be remembered in the mushroom industry for his dedication to supporting growers around the world, for his extensive practical knowledge, as well as for his engaging and warm personality. He was a caring husband, a kind father, and a very good friend. He will be greatly missed by many in the industry. Our sincere condolence goes to his wife Margaret and his four children.
By Rodney Barrett and Mohammad Mirzadeh and Mark Komatsu
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20 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
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