JOHN Campbell OBE is a man who has built up a multi-million pound farming and agri-food business from nothing.

 His family business Glenrath Farms, based in West Linton, is one of the most successful UK companies in the sector, with a turnover well in excess of £50 million per annum, and land holdings in excess of 15,000 Acres. 

And on Friday, he was awarded an Honourary Fellowship of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), one of the most prestigious agricultural accolades, in Bute Hall at the University of Glasgow. Speaking at the ceremony, he said: “I take the opportunity to sincerely thank you and the SRUC for conferring this prestigious honour to me in recognition of the success of our family, our company and above all our outstanding team of 240 employees on our farms.

“People are the hub of success in any walk of life – As I have found especially in business.

“At Glenrath we have invested £60 million of our own money in our company since 2000 and like the Carpenters we have only just begun.

“To succeed you do not have to be top of the class. I was always at the bottom at school and I was dyslexic,” he added. “We at Glenrath have succeeded by creating and building a good, well managed team with outstanding support and help from our customers, the UK major supermarkets. We find these companies excellent people to deal with and our policy has always been to give our customers what they want, when they want it, how they want it, on time.”

John has taken an interest throughout his career in developing young people who are just starting out in the industry and he has recently launched a scheme that offers low interest loans to young farmers wanting to start producing eggs on contract for Glenrath.

He added: “This week we signed up our first new entrant under the Glenrath loan scheme to encourage the younger generation into profitable egg production. And this young farmer only graduated here (Glasgow) last year.” 

He and his wife Cathy built the business from scratch years after he got the determination. When he was in primary school he witnessed the destruction of his father’s small butcher’s business in Greenock by German bombers, during World War II. That gave him the inspiration to set up.

Wayne Powell, the Principal of the SRUC, said: “John’s business success has resulted from the fact that he has always considered himself not just as a farmer, but as a food producer and as a marketing man.

“He has built the business on understanding the needs of his customers, and ensuring that those needs are met in full. 

“He recognised at a very early stage that the future of his business lay in working closely with the supermarkets and that continually investing in the latest available technologies would provide him with a competitive edge over other producers. And, crucially, he regards his staff as his greatest asset.”

John started his career on a hill farm in Argyllshire at 15 along with his brother and were so successful that they were soon able to but out the tenancy. When he turned 27, he and Cathy decided to go their own way and that’s when they moved to Peeblesshire and acquired Glenrath. Today the business produces, packs and sells almost 1.5 million eggs per day, farms over 10,000 sheep and 600 suckler cows, and employs around 240 staff. 

It is the largest business employer in the Scottish Borders and is still wholly owned and managed by the family, with all of John and Cathy’s four children, and some dozen grandchildren working in the Company. Their eldest son Ian is now Managing Director.

However this is not the only recognition John has received for his hard work. He has won the UK Farm Business of the Year Award in the House of Commons, twice, has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Egg Commission and was awarded an OBE at the Millennium for services to the farming industry.

Mr Powell added: “John is the ideal recipient of an SRUC fellowship, not only because of his business acumen, but because of his particular interest in continuing professional development and lifelong learning for young people who are coming into the agri-food industries.”