Meet the Consultant - Mary-Jane Lawrie
I am Mary-Jane Lawrie, a Senior Agricultural Consultant in the SAC Consulting Edinburgh office, working alongside Craig Bothwell, Mark Bowsher-Gibbs, Captiva Mills and Karen Little. We cover the Lothians and Peeblesshire, supporting over 270 clients with a range of farm types and enterprises. I have worked in the Edinburgh office for 14 years.
I was brought up on a mixed beef, sheep and arable farm in the Borders, before heading to Aberdeen University to study Conservation Biology. I have always been passionate about the environment and biodiversity, and how that can sit alongside agriculture, so after graduating and a gap year, my first job was as a Farmland Conservation Apprentice. After getting married in 2011 I moved to Edinburgh to my husband’s family farm and started working at SAC Consulting as a trainee. My day-to-day work involves completing biodiversity audits, agri-environment grant applications, financial advice and budgets, NVZ plans, nutrient budgets and subsidy advice. I still focus on agri-environment work and have a real passion for giving farmers practical advice on how to manage the habitats that they have on their farms. I work with them to find no cost or low-cost solutions to help them manage and boost biodiversity.
Since 2017 I have been a project manager and topic lead for the ‘Developing People’ topic, within Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service (FAS) programme which we deliver on behalf of the Scottish Government. The developing people topic covers a range of people centric subjects, such as personal resilience and wellbeing, confidence building, succession planning and developing the skills and confidence of people in the agriculture industry. I have built relationships with other organisations such as Farmstrong Scotland, Dyslexia Scotland and the Farm Safety Foundation to help strengthen the advice that we deliver. One of the key outcomes of this work is the delivery of the ‘Women in Agriculture’ groups. These groups are designed to encourage women to come together for knowledge exchange, peer to peer learning and confidence building. There are now 12 successful local groups from the Scottish Borders to Orkney, and an online group for women who are unable to attend the in-person events.
I also run a Women in Agriculture Facebook group with over 2200 members. We cover a range of technical subjects at the meetings such as animal health and welfare, business management and accountancy, as well as “soft skills” such as how to run committees, making your voice heard and networking. As I am involved in running a farming business with my husband, working off farm and raising our three young boys, I am fully aware of the issues that women in agriculture face, whether that is childcare and caring responsibilities, timing of meetings and events or the mental load.
In 2024 I organised the first national women in agriculture conference for FAS which was held at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. This was an excellent opportunity to bring together many of the women who attend our local groups. It was a sell-out event attended by likeminded women, with the aim to improve confidence, technical skills and personal resilience. This was one of my career highlights, seeing so many women together in one room which was buzzing with conversation as they networked at an event that I had organised. It was the first event of its kind and following its success we will be running the event again next year.
I also host the Agri Culture podcast for FAS, which is now in its 4th season. I have been honoured to interview some truly inspiring people including rugby referee Nigel Owens, Paralympian Sammi Kinghorn and Mike Duxbury, the Blind Farmer. The Agri Culture podcast focuses on inspiring stories, changing mindsets and making agriculture more accessible and diverse. This is something that is a great passion of mine and this is something I care deeply about.
Outside of work I am kept busy looking after our 3 boys; James (9), Archie (7) and Harry (4), and my husband Tom (40!). We farm together with Tom’s parents on a mixed arable and beef farm, as well as contract farming a neighbouring farm. Being so close to Edinburgh also brings in diversification opportunities and we are involved with the Royal Highland Show, agricultural contracting and local gritting contracts, to name a few. When I get a spare minute, I like to spend my time paddle boarding, walking or crafting. I also volunteer with two charities; a local charity Kids Love Clothes to help provide a wardrobe full of clothes to children in need across the Lothians, and a national charity Re-engage where I host afternoon tea parties for elderly people who come to the farm for cake, a cuppa and a chat. Anyone who knows me knows that I love cake, a cuppa and a chat, so this is the perfect role for me!
In May I was delighted to have been shortlisted for ‘Agricultural Advisor of the Year’ at the National Women in Agriculture Awards in London, and even more thrilled when I won! The awards were established to “honour the trailblazing, innovating, and leading women across the UK’s agri-sectors”. The award is a real honour for me, as it recognises my hard work, not just on the national Women in Agriculture programme, but on the day to day work I do for my clients. I am lucky to work with many inspiring colleagues and farming clients, and I couldn’t do what I do without the support of my colleagues, both within the Edinburgh office and across SAC Consulting.
Mary-Jane Lawrie, Senior Consultant, Mary-Jane.lawrie@sac.co.uk
Unearthed is the exclusive SAC Consulting members' monthly newsletter. Unearthed offers insights and tips from our experts on what we think is in store for farming and crofting in the coming months in order to protect and enhance your business.
Posted by Unearthed News on 17/06/2025
