I consider it a real privilege to be asked to write a column for a paper I have read as far back as I can remember hence why I am feeling the pressure not to ‘cock it up’.
Let’s start at the beginning, I am a fermer’s loon fae Strichen who left School at 16 and joined Score, a local engineering company, completing a six year modern apprenticeship in mechanics, bench fitting, machining, welding and business management.
I spent 11 years with Score progressing through the ranks which involved travel to countries such as Norway, Australia, Algeria, Trinidad and Azerbaijan to name but a few.
Working in these places gave me the opportunity to meet and get to know people from many different cultures and environments. This highlighted to me the importance of surrounding myself with the correct people when starting up on my own as well as truly appreciating a family home.
Many working opportunities since 2008
In 2008, I left Score to become self-employed and alongside the family farm helped to set up the poultry side of the business at Kindrought while initially continuing to contract my services to Score and various other farms locally.
The first major opportunity came in 2009 in the form of a capital investment grant geared towards new entrants.
A successful outcome in this application saw me up and going, building a 16,000 free range bird laying unit. This comprised of a James Killen shed with Big Dutchman equipment inside.
At the time, it was a massive commitment for me as a 27-year-old being financially responsible for a £600,000 project.
We have since worked away and been very fortunate to be presented with many opportunities in different forms i.e. share farming agreements, contract farming agreements, additional poultry sites to rent or buy, various supply contracts and even an established customer base.
These have all been platforms on which we have been able to build and form relationships which we strive to maintain. All scenarios have been most welcome, much appreciated and with a lot of collaborative hard work it seems to be working for all involved.
I am often asked if I feel the stress of pushing on my business and the plain answer is ‘not at all’.
My wife, Claire and myself have continued to build on our enterprise to where it is today challenging ourselves to meet only our own high expectations.
Maintaining the right attitude
I have not had the added pressure of having to consider that the business or farm that has been in a family for years could potentially be at risk, this can be a huge responsibility and worry for the younger generation, more so than some preceding generations may appreciate.
If our business was all to ‘go south’ we would not be losing anything we hadn’t built ourselves.
I attended the FMA dinner in Aberdeen last week and the speaker Roger Mercer, spoke sublimely about empowering the next generation when they are in their prime, he is absolutely right.
Empower and be there with support if called for. We only need to look as far as the couple sharing this column with us, Ben & Harriet (bacon), to see the potential in giving capable youth a chance.
Expanding my business is as much about the people I work with than anything else. Our team of 15 full and part-time warriors that turn up every morning to tackle the ever-increasing work load I put in front of them are key.
I tend to blaze a trail striding forward and it more often than not lands to Claire and my brother Mark (my right-hand man) to take up the supporting rolls of sorting it out.
Again, this reiterates the importance of surrounding yourself with people with the right attitude.
‘My glass is always half full’
Craig Grant farms near Strichen, with his wife Claire, running a large-scale poultry enterprise, alongside beef, sheep and arable.
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