William Gillespie joins Aberdeenshire family business
Farmlay Eggs, the family-run Aberdeenshire business established in 1946, has announced the appointment of William Gillespie as a trainee agricultural operations manager. Aged 22, Mr Gillespie joined Farmlay prior to completing his degree in Agriculture and Farm Business Management at Harper Adams University, from which he graduated last month.
Mr Gillespie’s early interest in poultry stemmed from growing up on a pig and poultry farm in Perthshire. His experience includes summers at Woodbank Farm, gaining early cattle and arable work, and collaborating with his father at Morspan Construction, a specialist steel-framed poultry shed supplier, providing practical industry insight.
A placement year with poultry genetics company Aviagen involved six months on their farming base, three in the hatchery, and three months overseas, significantly deepening his knowledge of poultry breeding.
Farmlay Managing Director Iain Chapman commented: “We’ve been looking to fill this role for a while but we wanted to wait for the right person. William stood out because he has a passion for the poultry business and a keen interest in new technology; he’s got that knowledge and he’s got an interest in the whole farm as, including the arable, which is what I was really looking for.”
Now based at Farmlay’s rearing farm at Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, Mr Gillespie described the business as “a really good family business, with three generations involved. There’s so much progression in the business, and they really involve the whole team in their decisions. Nice to work with and no two days are the same.”
Christine James, Farmlay’s Poultry Manager for two of her six years, has been central to Mr Gillespie’s training. He praised her as “Supportive and good at explaining the Farmlay system. She is an invaluable source of knowledge with all her experience of working with hens.” Mr Gillespie values the role’s variety and technology, engaging across poultry, arable, and cattle work, and views Farmlay as “progressive, expansive and full of opportunity.”
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The multi-generational Farmlay Eggs packs over seven million eggs weekly, producing 40% in-house. It supplies major retailers like Lidl, Aldi, Spar, and Costco across Scotland. The family also farms 2,000 acres of cereals and runs 230 commercial suckler cows at its 2,700-acre Cockmuir Farm near Strichen.
Farmlay invests in environment, welfare, and facilities. Initiatives include planting over 10,000 trees, utilising renewable energy (solar, biomass, wind-powered) with a new 2MWh battery storage unit, and a £3.5 million packing centre investment in 2025 for new equipment. A palletiser was also installed earlier this year to boost efficiency.
Mr Gillespie is optimistic about poultry farming careers for young people, stating: “You don’t need to own a farm to have a career in agriculture. There are plenty of roles and opportunities to get involved.” He has joined Ellon Rugby Club and Strichen Young Farmers, finding Aberdeenshire’s peaceful surroundings and friendly people welcoming.
