Jim McLaren Awarded MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours List

Quality Meat Scotland Chairman Jim McLaren has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List announced today (Saturday June 17th 2017).

Mr McLaren (49), who farms in Perthshire, has been chairman of QMS since 2011, after serving as President of NFU Scotland from 2007 to 2011.

He is a director of NFU Mutual and a director of Angus Cereals. He has also served on the board of SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) and is a trustee of The Cameron Trust.

Mr McLaren, who is married to Shona and has two sons, two daughters and two step-daughters, was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by SRUC in November 2015 for his “outstanding contributions to Scottish agriculture and the rural economy.” He is also a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies (FRAgS).

Along with working in his various industry roles and running his farming business, Mr McLaren also makes time to support the work of charities such as the Royal Highland Education Trust and regularly welcomes local school children to his farm, Dargill near Crieff, to gain a better understanding of where their food comes from.

In recent years Mr McLaren led on a project to create a memorial to pay tribute to the work of the Land Girls who helped feed the nation by working on farms during the Second World War.

The memorial in Moray was created by renowned sculptor Peter Naylor following a three-year fundraising campaign and unveiled by the Duke of Rothesay.

Mr McLaren said he was surprised and delighted to have received the award.

“It has been a huge privilege for me to have worked in, and for, the Scottish agricultural industry in the various roles I have undertaken to date,” said Mr McLaren.

“I am immensely proud of our industry and particularly of the people, the length and breadth of our country, who dedicate their lives to producing safe, nutritious food in a way which enriches Scotland’s environment.

“It is the passion, dedication and innovation of those who work in our industry which has resulted in Scotland’s larder – and  brands such as Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork – earning a global reputation for quality.”