The convoy of giant pea viners often seen trundling from farm-to-farm across Perthshire, Angus and Kincardineshire in late summer will be a visual legacy of Graham Forbes’ impact on agriculture in Courier country.
Although this pioneering giant of Scottish farming, who died this month, had many farming interests, he will be best remembered and respected by hundreds of growers for the establishment and success of East Coast Viners. Every year around 10,000 acres of land are rented for growing peas and beans from more than 200 farmers stretching from Stonehaven to Auchterarder.
The Montrose-based company has been instrumental in the development of today’s massive vining operation in eastern Scotland, and the opportunity it gives growers to introduce a break crop into their rotations.
Graham’s farming base was Omachie, near Broughty Ferry, but his entrepreneurial spirit and successful partnership with his brothers John and the late Mike led to the establishment of major agricultural businesses such as East Coast Viners Nutrition at Drumlithie, which produces and distributes animal feed and fertilisers for many farmers north of the Tay.
However his brother John, who farms at Slains Park, Kinneff, acknowledges the pea business was Graham’s overriding business passion.
“We set it up in 1969 and he was immensely proud of it. He enjoyed meeting different farmers and buyers and being at the very heart of it,” he said.
Those who worked with him, including Fred Richardson, his manager at East Coast Viners, were inspired by Graham’s enthusiasm, particularly during the intricate planning of the annual sowing regime or the harvesting operation which needs to be completed against the clock.
“In springtime he carried around a copy of the sowing programme and once harvest started he was totally hands-on, making decisions every evening about where the viners were going for the next 24 hours,” he said. “And he was always focused on the market, eventually producing more petits pois than anywhere else in the UK.”
Graham Forbes may have been a businessman as much as a farmer, but his influence on land use in Scotland will live on.
