GLENRATH FARMS founder John Campbell has been knighted in the New Year Honours List, the only other Scot to have received the title alongside tennis champion, Sir Andy Murray.
Sir John was knighted for his services to farming and charitable service to entrepreneurship, after his organisation set up a new entrants' grant of £100,000 to encourage young farmers to get into the business of egg production, with the guarantee that Glenrath Farms would buy their eggs from them.
Sir John said: "I am surprised, delighted and completely honoured. I can't think who might have nominated me for this, I believe it may have been someone local, but we will never know.
"Not only am I delighted to receive this title, it has also been wonderful to make my wife a lady."
In total, 18 direct family members are involved in running the business, with Sir John's own children in managerial positions, as well as three of his granddaughters, and the business has become the UK's largest egg producer.
Sir John commented: "The beauty of having a family business is that you are guaranteed a successor and you can also work with your family to make changes to the running of things. For example, my second oldest son, Keith, encouraged me to go intro free-range egg production, long before it was popular, and we started out by accommodating the hens in second hand houses, and we expanded it from there, and I am so glad we did because it has been a great success."
Although the egg production is the main breadwinner for Sir John – he said that eggs are "what keeps the wheels turning" – the entire family are still very passionate about their Blackface sheep flock, and farming overall.
"The beauty of the poultry business is that it creates a cash flow that allows us to keep our farm enterprise growing, and it's great because we love our Blackface sheep, and were delighted to win Peebles show this year, after 56 years of competing with the sheep there," he said.
His knighthood was announced last weekend, but Sir John explained that he had received a letter a month before it became public knowledge, and that he and his family had been sworn to secrecy, which had been hard.
"When it was announced on the news that I had been given the honour, I could say the phone rang about 100 times that night, with people congratulating me," he said.
Asked what he plans to do now, he said: "At 82, I'm not all that sure! But I love my job, my son is now the managing director, but I love to deal with the supermarkets and I think that until I feel I'm getting in the road, I'll keep working as we all get on so well!"
Looking forward to the official ceremony, and meeting other honours' winners, Sir John commented: "It would be great to rub shoulders with Andy Murray, but who knows if he will even be there on the same day as me, as I would say his schedule is a lot more hectic than mine! But I am sure it will be a great day, regardless!"
Also included on the honours list, in Scotland, were: OBE - chair of veterinary education, professor Susan Margaret Rhind, the Royal School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh, for services to veterinary education. MBE - Founder, MS Borders Racing Club, Mrs Rhona Louise Elliot, for services to horse racing and charitable services to people with Multiple Sclerosis, in the Scottish Borders; chair of the institute of chartered foresters examination board, Alan Robert Motion, for services to sustainable forestry and arboriculture, Stirling and Falkirk; Alistair Duffus Strachan, for services to farming and the community in Cuminestown, Aberdeenshire; founder, Mossburn Community Farm, Lockerbie, Mrs Juanita Anne Francis Wilson, for services to vulnerable children, adults and animals in Dumfries and Galloway. British Empire Medal - manager, Media Kitchen, James Hutton Institute, Mrs Sheena Sandra Lamond, for services to agricultural science.
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