Sir Ian Grant: A leader and farming giant

While Sir Ian Grant, who has died aged 79, stood out as one of the most impressive farming leaders of the past century, he also uniquely steered to success a wide range of non-farming bodies and companies who valued and benefited from his business and leadership skills.

Brought up on the family farm in Perthshire, Sir Ian was schooled at Strathallan and Edinburgh College of Agriculture before returning to Thorn, near Alyth, where one of the main enterprises was commercial cattle.

In his early days in farming Sir Ian followed his father in picking up top awards for his livestock.

He was also known as a good judge of stock and soon was involved in prestigious events such as the Scottish Winter Fair and the Royal Smithfield Show. He became the chief cattle steward in London at a time when it was the nation’s premier countrycomes-to-town event.

In his early days he was also a director of the farm co-operative, East of Scotland Farmers. He retained this directorship for more than two decades.

Later in life he served in the European farm cooperative movement as chairman of the Copa Cereals Group in Brussels.

At home he became involved in the National Farmers Union of Scotland, initially with the Perth branch, and was invited to sit on national committees and then, in short order, to represent his country on various committees in Brussels dealing with the Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) for the European Community.

In 1984 he was appointed president of NFU Scotland.

This was a period of unrest in agriculture with turmoil between various EU members over the Cap.

He had to deal with protests by farmers but his diplomacy gained him a reputation which saw him become a major figure on committees in Brussels, including chairing the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, a worldwide organisation at that time with 600 million members.

During his time as NFUS president he dealt with a number of challenges including the Chernobyl disaster. Winds had carried radioactive Caesium 137 from the reactor site and deposits were discovered in grazing land. Frantic discussions with government led to restrictions on the sale and slaughter of lambs.

Sir Ian’s negotiation skills were recognised outwith agriculture and he was soon asked to take on further responsibilities.

In 1990 he agreed to join the Scottish Tourist Board as its chairman and led many missions in the UK and around the world to put Scotland on the map as an attractive destination.

In 1993 Sir Ian sold the farm to concentrate fully on other responsibilities and moved to Alyth.

He became chairman of the Cairngorms Partnership, non-executive director of the Clydesdale Bank, deputy chairman of NFU Mutual Insurance, and non-executive director of Scottish Hydro Electric.

In 1996 he was appointed Scottish Commissioner for the Crown Estate and from 2002-09 was national chairman.

His services to agriculture were rewarded with a CBE in 1988 and in 2010 he received a knighthood. He then became a trustee of the Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust.

Despite his hectic life Sir Ian was a committed family man with wife Eileen and their three daughters, Catherine, Jane and Rosie, their respective spouses, and his six grandchildren.

IMPRESSIVE: Sir Ian led a life of achievement.