Alumni Entrepreneur stories
SRUC produces inspiring alumni who are changing the world through enterprise. Here are some of their stories.
John Sinclair
John owns and runs Craigie’s Farm with his wife Kirsteen. Craigie's is a diversified farm complete with café, shop (stocking alumni products!), fruit picking for visitors and now a soft-play farmers theme park for kids. John is a passionate advocate for Scotland’s food and farming sector, and is involved with several agricultural committees, including being a Director of The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) for the last 14 years.
You can watch this video where John talks about Craigie’s and his time at SRUC.
Kerry Cartwright and Ian Buchanan
Kerry and Ian met while studying at SRUC’s Craibstone campus. Even before they had graduated both with honours degrees in 2019, they’d started a new free-range pork and beef business together. Despite pressures of the pandemic, the two have successfully grown Rootin’ and Roamin’.
Watch this video to learn about Kerry’s journey into farming.
Rory Young
Rory Young runs a diversified farm and is well known for his company Scottish Christmas Trees. Sustainability is at the heart of what he does, as he takes steps to help his farm become more energy independent, with a plan to offer zero carbon products in the future.
Have a look at this video to find out about Rory’s sustainability plans.
Anna and Ross Mitchell
Anna and Ross met while they were both studying at SRUC. Their business, Castleton Farm, supplies fruit, manufactures food products and runs a café and farm shop. Ross oversees the fruit growing side of the business, while Anna manages the café, shop and takes care of marketing.
Watch Anna and Ross talk about Castleton Farm in this video.
Tommy Dale
Since 2002 Tommy’s company Forth Resource Management has provided a sustainable recycling solution for garden waste generated across South East Scotland and currently handles 70,000 tonnes per annum. His recycling process produces high quality compost, which is sold back under the Caledonian Horticulture banner to gardeners, landscapers and farmers.
Watch this video to hear Tommy talk about being an entrepreneur.
Jim Shanks
Along with Jim’s dairy cows, Standhill Farm hosts a range of enterprises, including anaerobic digestion and biomass systems. It also has a new glasshouse in which Jim grows mouth-watering tomatoes, making the farm one of the most sustainable, environmentally friendly models of food production anywhere in the world.
Learn more about why Jim started growing tomatoes at Standhill Farm in this video.
Alumni Entrepreneur Network
The network will enable networking and sharing of experiences amongst enterprising alumni, students and SRUC colleagues.
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