SCOTTISH FARMER and former MSP John Scott has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queens New Year Honours list.

With 21 years in parliament, Mr Scott of Balkissock Farm, Girvan, is Scotland's longest serving Conservative MSP, narrowly missing out on re-election in May 2021 – but he was involved in campaigning on behalf of farmers long before his career in Holyrood.

Prior to his political career, he served as the convenor of NFUS’s Hill Farming Committee and was one of the pioneers of Farmers’ Markets, setting up Scotland’s second market in Ayr, in July 1999, then founding the Scottish Association of Farmers Markets with the help of Douglas Watson and James Graham from SAOS. He previously told The SF: "What we did was re-establish the link between town and country which had been broken by BSE."

Read more - Great Scott! Farmer MSP looks back on his long career

Mr Scott was also an early supporter of environmentally friendly farming practices. In 1993, with the help and support of Col. Sir Bryce Knox, he set up and chaired the Ayrshire Farming and Wildlife Advisory group, to increase awareness of environmental issues within rural communities.

Speaking to TSF after learning of his award, Mr Scott said: “I was surprised, humbled and delighted to be given this award in the Queen’s New Years Honours List.

"This Honour also recognises the loyal and dedicated hard work of my diligent staff, the help and commitment of my wife Sheila, my family, and many other individuals on whom I depended to help support me and my constituents, and deliver on my political work, over the past 21 years.

"I have spent the last 30 years working for both the farming and environmental communities as well as my constituents in Ayr, Prestwick and Troon, and I hope to continue this work, perhaps in a more relaxed way, in my retirement. I also look forward to spending more time with my family and grandchildren, whom I have spent more time with already, in the last six months, than I did in the last five years put together!”