The lessons learned from a lifetime of farming
John Sinclair of Craigies Farm gives a fascinating and thoughtful talk on what farming has taught him about the importance of nature and its place in our lives. He discusses the challenges smaller farms face in the modern economy and how Craigies has faced these difficulties head on by diversifying and expanding its focus. John outlines why he is so passionate about educating others about the land, the outdoors and where our food comes from.
About the speaker
The value of returning to our roots
As a fourth-generation farmer, farming has always been in John Sinclair’s blood. Taking over from his parents in 1995, he and his wife Kirsteen turned around a struggling beef and dairy farm to develop Craigies, a thriving soft fruit and vegetable growing business and farm village that now welcomes 260,000 visitors each year. Craigies Shop was opened in 1988 with a one-table shop in a converted barn and the Café was added in 2007. It has expanded over the years to offer extensive Pick Your Own experiences, and a new Play Barn for younger visitors is currently under construction.
Farming and family are at the heart of everything at Craigies Farm where they strive to offer a complete modern farm experience to showcase the value of farming to our communities and allow them to be part of it.
John attended SRUC and graduated with an HND in Agriculture, and is still very much involved with the college, with students coming out to Craigies to study their crop fields and farm diversification process. In March 2020 John was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Farm Retail Association.
In his talk, John will approach the theme of Biophilia by looking at the increased community desire to connect with nature and what this means to him as a fourth generation farmer.
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Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom EH530AH
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