Hugh Guthrie
WELL-KNOWN farmer Hugh Guthrie, who was born in 1933 at East Doura Farm, near Kilmarnock, has died.
When he was 11, the family moved to Low Milton, near Maybole, where he finished his schooling at Carrick Academy, Maybole, before joining his father to work on the farm. Younger brother, Jim, completed the team at Low Milton a couple of years later.
Hugh was an active member of Ayr YFC enjoying all aspects of club activities but especially enjoyed stockjudging competitions and was part of a winning team at the Royal Highland Show when it was held at Dumfries. It was at a YF dance that he met his wife to be, Janet Fergusson, and they were married in Sorn Parish Church, in December, 1957.
Hugh had just acquired Ardoch Farm, near St John’s Town of Dalry, and they started their married life there. In 1970, he also took on the tenancy of the nearby Stroangassel Farm. They were to enjoy nearly 65 years of marriage which included the arrival of daughters, Elizabeth and Isabel, son-inlaws Wilson and George, and their four grand-children, Bill, Adam, Ashleigh and Helen.
Hugh’s passion for farming and gentle encouragement for his family to be involved within the farming industry was passed down and it gave him great pleasure to see the next generations all actively farming.
Farming and family were Hugh’s life. When he moved to Ardoch he left dairying behind – though milking did continue on a very small scale in the shape of the ‘ house cow’ for many years. Instead, he took to breeding Blackface sheep and Galloway cattle.
He especially enjoyed working with his Galloways and would put great effort into preparing them for sales. Hugh’s Galloways probably did more international travel than he did, with many being sold to Germany over the years.
His only trip overseas was to Paris, where a heifer he had sold was on a stand at the Paris International Agricultural Show promoting the Galloway breed.
But he didn’t only have success with his Galloways. He very much enjoyed showing Blackface sheep at the local shows with quite a few successes along the way, including champion of champions at Carsphairn Show. He always enjoyed attending local shows, as well as stewarding for many years at Stewartry and Glenkens shows.
He was also known to judge at local and national shows over the years. A highlight of the year was a day at the Highland Show – an event he rarely missed.
Like many farmers, he didn’t spend many nights away from the farm. For many years, a holiday to Peebles Hydro for a few nights would be the ‘annual leave’.
One of the few benefits of the Covid pandemic was the live streaming of market sales and shows online which allowed ‘a trip across the country’ without him having to leave the comfort of home.
He was ordained an elder in Dalry Parish Church in 1971 and so had passed half a century serving on the Kirk Session.
He was blessed with good health for most of his life. A hip replacement in 2006 gave him a new lease of life and the ability to continue farming. He was proud that his grandsons were carrying on his legacy by taking over the running of the farms at Ardoch and Stroangassel, but, it saddened him in recent years to see so much good land going to forestry, thus denying many young people the opportunity to join the farming industry.
Hugh is survived by his wife, Janet and daughters, Elizabeth and Isabel.