By Ewan Pate, farming editor

JOHN CAMERON, who has operated in the top echelons of Scottish agriculture throughout his career, has announced that he is to considerably wind down his farming operation.

A deal has been done which will see a remarkable 36,850 acres sold to the Edinmore Group, which is subsidiary of Caledonian Investment Trust.

This transaction includes five of the seven farms which Mr Cameron farms in partnership with his wife Margaret and includes the extensive adjacent hill units of Glenlochay and Invermearan in west Perthshire.

The other three farms are in the east of Fife.

Lochty, Wester Kellie and the grassland farm of North Baldutho amount to around 1200 acres.

Mr and Mrs Cameron are to retain the 400-acre home farm at Balbuthie, St Monans, and the nearby rented farm of Pittarthie, also 400 acres and home to 250 suckler cows.

In effect, the winding down operation will still leave a considerable business.

Balbuthie is all to be put down to grass and Mrs Cameron’s herd of Hereford cattle will still be very much to the fore.

Speaking yesterday at Balbuthie, Mr Cameron described the reasons behind his decision.

“We had reached the stage where we were asking why we were doing it all,” he said. “After a particularly wet day weaning lambs at Invermearan followed by a rushed drive back to Fife for a meeting I realised that it might be time to cut back a bit.”

Additionally, Mrs Cameron is recovering from a serious back operation and with no family to follow on the decision was made to form a trust to take over the farming operation.

The complications of setting up a trust to operate such a large farming operation soon became clear and in short order the decision was made, as recently as November, to sell off a large chunk of the business and create a charitable trust.

Mr Cameron said, “It will, I hope, eventually go on to do good and great things.”

The purpose of the trust is not yet decided but both Mr and Mrs Cameron are known to have a great interest in encouraging young people in a career in agriculture.

Mr Cameron is also chairman of governors at Dollar Academy.

This must be one of the largest sales of land and assets in Scotland in recent years.

Mr Cameron, displaying the forthrightness and clarity of thought which served him well as the NFUS’s first long-term president, outlined the detail.

“The deal has been driven from the start by Finlay Clark of Bidwells in Fort William and his colleague Jim Donald from their Perth office.

“I told them that there were three conditions.

“Firstly it had to be a single deal and secondly it had to be lock, stock and barrel.

“I have never put stock off and I am not going to start now.”

The purchase had to include 8500 hill ewes, 2500 ewe hoggs, 120 cows at Glen Lochay, and 300 cows at Baldutho, plus all the attendant feeding stock.

This would involve a great deal of trust because counting all these hill sheep is an impossibility at this time of year.

Thirdly, all the staff had to be taken over with the new operation.

“That was very important to me,” said Mr Cameron.

“There are seven shepherds on the hill farms and five men here in Fife, all with long service.

“Also, the deal must be done privately.

“By the time I had told them all that their jaws were hitting the table but it has happened remarkably smoothly and a deal was concluded last Friday.”

There is no indication at present of the sum involved.

Edinmore Group said in a statement yesterday, “The farming business will continue to trade as a going concern and all staff will be retained.”

Edinmore has a large and diverse portfolio of interests, including agriculture, leisure, sporting, commercial property investments and development projects.

Its parent group, Caledonian Investment Trust, has strong links with the Cayzer family, who built it up from their roots in the shipping world.

Angus Crow, managing director of Edinmore, said yesterday, “We are very pleased to have reached agreement on this significant purchase and look forward to reviewing all the various aspects of the business.”

As to the future, there is little fear of John Cameron giving up the world of agricultural politics.

He remains president of both the Scottish region of the National Beef Association and the National Sheep Association and chairs the quality standards committee of Quality Meat Scotland.

He also spends time as a regional director of Stagecoach Rail with responsibilities for their services in south-west England.

Railways have been an abiding passion and Mr Cameron revealed yesterday he has the K4 locomotive Great Marquis undergoing renovation and it is hoped that eventually it will join his other engine, the Union of South Africa, in an open museum linked to the working rail network.

The Camerons have retained their cottage at Glenlochay and 100 acres of grassland along with some stalking rights.

Unusually, Mr Cameron has also retained the right to keep his landing craft at Invermearan and the rights to use it on Loch Lyon.

“That craft was a vital part of our business as we built it up,” he said.

“Before we put in the road it was the only way to move stock to the hirsels at the top of the loch. I would hate to part with it.”

Mrs Cameron, who was awarded an MBE last year for services to agriculture, is not to show her Herefords this year but will be keeping a close eye on the breed as it develops.

She also hopes to spend more time with her husband in her native Africa, where they maintain a cottage on the shores of Lake Malawi.

John Cameron also intends to take a trip to the North Pole this year by Russian ice-breaker and helicopter.

In his language “winding down” is a relative term.