IT IS almost 50 years to the day that Robert Howie completed his agricultural studies at Writtle College.

And in September the farmer returned to the college in Chelmsford to pick up his Honorary Fellowship at the college’s graduation ceremony.

“I was absolutely amazed,” says Robert, 69.

“It is quite an honour and when they told me I was so surprised.”

Robert, who has worked with Writtle College students over the years, was recognised by the college for his dedication, passion and contribution to farming, which has led to his produce being exported around the world.

He picked up his Honorary Fellowship alongside Professor Grenville Davey, who won the Turner Prize in 1992, and Lise-Lotte Olsen, a former Chair of the Board of Governors at Writtle College, who both received Honorary Degrees from the college.

Robert, who grew up in a farming family that hailed from Scotland, completed his studies at Writtle to go on to work the family’s 200 acre arable and beef farm in the county.

The Howie family bought Wicks Manor Farm in Tolleshunt Major in 1967 and since then Robert has helped grow the farm to 6,000 acres of arable and pig farming. The farm currently has 4,000 pigs.

His four sons are all involved in the farm and each has their own business, including Andrew Howie who is co-founder of popular milkshake brand, Shaken Udder.

Wicks Manor produces ham, bacon and sausages not just for the UK market, but also export, with produce reaching Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Sweden and the Caribbean.

Robert says: “The export side has grown in the last four years, ever since we went along to some international food trade fairs abroad. We have always been fairly well ahead in the industry for trying and exploring new avenues, so when the opportunity arose to go along to a food fair abroad we took it.

“Yes, all these countries have pigs, ham, bacon, sausages, but they like the provenance of ours. They like the story that comes with it, that they have all been grown on the farm. People in Hong Kong particularly like it.”

While the business is successful now, it was a tough journey to get there, says Robert.

Pig farming in the 1980s hit a low when the Governnment introduced new welfare codes of practice, which meant pork could not be produced as cheaply as it was on the continent, where the codes didn’t apply.

“The prices fell through the floor because so much cheap meat was available from Europe. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going. There are more opportunities when things get tough,” says Robert.

“If you take the blinkers off and look around, there are plenty of opportunities to grasp.

“My family came to Essex from Scotland in 1928 when Essex farmers were walking away from their land. The Scottish farmers took it on and here we are.”