Guild fellow Jane Craigie was presented with an associateship of the UK’s royal agricultural societies – the CARAS award – at the 2019 Royal Highland Show.
The award – from the Council for Awards of Royal Agricultural Societies (CARAS) – was made in recognition of Jane’s continuing and significant contribution to agriculture and rural progress in Scotland.
The CARAS award was established by the UK’s four national agriculture societies to recognise distinguished achievement in agriculture and the related land-based industries.
Jane has been an agricultural communicator for more than 20 years.
Her company, Jane Craigie Marketing, has been operating for over 12 years, working with clients such as the Oxford Farming Conference, Turriff Show, BASF and Lantra.
Jane is also a co-founder and director of the Rural Youth Project, which aims to better understand and support the needs of young people involved in agriculture and rural activities.
Receiving the award from CARAS president James Black, she said: “I’m incredibly passionate about the power of the farming and rural economies, as well as what our countryside delivers to society.
“My day-job is to see and tell the best stories about our rural businesses, places and people.
“Recognition like the CARAS award feels to me like the industry saying you’re doing a good job, and that’s warmed my heart.”
Jane is a member of the executive board of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and a council member of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists.
She is a graduate of the Institute of Agricultural Management (IAgrM) and Scottish Enterprise rural leadership programmes, a Windsor Leadership Alumna and a Waitangi Scholar.
She is also a board member for Lantra and a Professional Agriculturalist (P.Agric).
