New award to recognise those publicly promoting UK farming

A new award has been established by Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) to recognise students, past and present, engaged in publicly promoting British farming.

The land-based college has launched the Fordyce Maxwell Award for Agricultural Communications, named after a farmer and award-winning journalist.

Fordyce Maxwell, who died in October 2022, spent half a century reporting on and promoting the British farming industry.

He spent many years as agricultural editor of The Scotsman, where he was also diary editor and a columnist.

He had regular columns in The Herald, The Sunday Post and The Journal among others and hosted his own segments on BBC radio and television.

The farmer was awarded an MBE for services to journalism and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Scottish Society of Newspaper Editors.

The award will recognise an SRUC student, or former student who graduated no earlier than 2018, who has helped spread the word about agriculture.

This could be through written articles, social media content for a business, podcasts, vlogs, public events, or any other form of communication.

Senior lecturer Craig Davidson said it was "crucial" that the agriculture industry self-promotes "the good work that is happening across the sector".

“In times of changing public perception and a decrease in general agricultural literacy, we aim to encourage those who have their wellies on the ground to spread the word about the food journey.

“Fordyce was one of the most effective communicators the Scottish agricultural industry has ever seen so, with the support of his family, we’re delighted to launch this award in his honour.”

Nominations for the award are open until 12 June.