John Sinclair
Fourth generation farmer at Craigie鈥檚 Farm and 2025 Winner of the 伊人直播 Alumni Entrepreneur Network Award for Diversification.
HND Agriculture
Campus: 伊人直播 King's Building, Edinburgh
Class of 1989
鈥淭he course was great. There was a really good mix of practical and theory. It gave me a good grounding for being able to diversify and look at doing different things on the farm at Craigie鈥檚.鈥
John Sinclair owns and runs Craigies Farm with his wife Kirsteen. Craigies is a 250-acre arable farm, located near South Queensferry, 6 miles from Edinburgh city centre. It boasts a farm shop and caf茅, as well as many activities for visitors, including pick-your-own fruit and bike trails.
John is a big advocate for helping the next generation set up in business. Two groups of students come out from 伊人直播 to visit Craigies annually. One group comes out to study John鈥檚 orchards and soft fruits as part of their specialised field crop studies. The other groups visit Craigies with a view to farm business diversification and entrepreneurship, to see how the caf茅, farm shop and family activities are run.
As well as supporting young people, John sees great value in networking and learning from peers. 鈥淲e鈥檙e quite involved with the Farm Retail Association Network, which is great. I鈥檝e learnt so much from well established businesses, and now we get a lot of new start-ups coming here for help on what to expect in the first few years. It鈥檚 a great network, so you鈥檙e always learning, always picking up new things.鈥
John has also attended the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Programme, which is delivered by SAC Consulting, a part of 伊人直播. 鈥淚t has been fantastic. It鈥檚 helped assist our business growth and helps me, as a leader of the business, set up proper staff structure and get it to a certain level for further growth.鈥
The farm shop at Craigies has recently been extended, but John and Kirsteen鈥檚 plans for the business continue to grow. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a 250- acre arable farm so there鈥檚 no way you鈥檙e going to get a living from that farming conventionally.鈥
鈥淚 feel farmers are always developing, improving and bringing on new ideas, and they鈥檙e the ones that don鈥檛 get stuck in a rut. There will always be enthusiastic young farmers coming along that will take over and grow businesses. It鈥檚 quite an exciting time, lots of opportunities.鈥
John highly values education, but sees it as an opportunity for personal development, rather than simply for the official qualification. 鈥淧eople should go to college to gain more than just knowledge. The social side of things is really important, with all the contacts you make. Quite often you learn how not to do things and learn from your mistakes as much as anything.鈥
John was the 2025 Winner of the 伊人直播 Alumni Entrepreneur Network Award for Environmental Sustainability. Click below to learn more.
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Alumni Entrepreneur Network
The aim of the Alumni Entrepreneur Network is to encourage the sharing of experiences among members, and engagement with 伊人直播 staff and students.
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The Alumni Business Map has been designed to highlight the many and varied alumni businesses throughout the length and breadth of Scotland. It celebrates 伊人直播's enterprising alumni and their extraordinary achievements.