Meet the consultant - Mary Paton

I’m Mary, I joined SAC Consulting as a consultant in the Campbeltown office at the end of March 2026.  

My first memories of agriculture were associated with living on my gran’s small holding as a child. I don’t remember our family trip to Disneyland, but I can remember all the names of the cows at age nine! When my gran gave up farming, neighbours grazed the ground and would often give me pet lambs. When it was time to leave school there was no guidance given to me around rural education. I found a prospectus for SRUC Oatridge in the library and subsequently applied for the equine course as I felt at the time I didn’t have enough agricultural experience. I achieved a HND in Equine Studies. However, I knew I never wanted to work in the equine world, so when I finished my course, I went home and started working at a local fish farm. The plan was to work there for a year until I figured out what I wanted to do.  

Five years later (with a stint in Benbecula with The Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) for a year in between) I finally got a job as an Agricultural Officer in the Oban RPID office. I was there for eight years working my way up to Senior Agricultural Officer. During my time with RPID I have been cattle, Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS), Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme (CAGS) and Croft House Grant Scheme (CHGS) coordinator. This gave me a good knowledge across different areas of the agricultural industry.  

I have been building my farm and luckily managed to purchase more ground last year near home on the Cowal Peninsula. We are slowly building cattle and sheep numbers with the hope that eventually my husband only needs to work part-time off farm. Both of us having full-time jobs and farming isn’t always straight forward!  

Towards the end of last year, I realised that I was missing getting out of the office and interacting with farmers. The role in the Campbeltown office came around at the right time, when I was ready for a change and new challenge. I already knew Helen, Cara and some of clients through my RPID job so thought it could be a great fit. Starting during the busy Single Application Form (SAF) application time worked well, I got to meet many of our clients within the first six weeks and gained valuable insight and knowledge of the farming systems in Kintyre.  

I have been really enjoying my time working as a consultant, the role is far more varied than I ever thought it would be. I have completed AECS and CAGS applications, special advice plans, croft regulatory work and currently I am working on an Integrated Land Management Plan (ILMP). 

Mary Paton, Consultant, Mary.Paton@sac.co.uk 

Posted by SAC Consulting on 21/09/2026