The Fordyce Maxwell Award for Agricultural Communications was created in 2023 to honour the memory of Fordyce Maxwell, an award-winning and highly-respected journalist, broadcaster, and farmer, who sadly passed away in October 2022. Fordyce was a generous supporter of various rural charities and enjoyed helping where, and as often, as he could. He was a great advocate for the farming industry, and he has a strong family connection to SRUC with his son Tom being the Chief Communications Officer.

For half a century, Fordyce Maxwell was a staple in the farming industry, with a career spent reporting on topical issues which affected the country, most notably his industry-leading reporting of the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001. In between two hugely successful stints as Farming Editor at The Scotsman, where he also served as Diary Editor and Columnist. Fordyce farmed with his family at Cramond Hill in North Northumberland while also freelancing for, among numerous other titles, The Herald, The Sunday Post and the Newcastle Journal. He also hosted his own segments on BBC radio and television.

In 1995, Fordyce he was awarded the MBE for services to journalism and he also earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Scottish Society of Newspaper Editors. He was also the author of three books, which explored the lighter side of farming.

When Trees Were Green - a collection of some of Fordyce's best Scotsman articles - was published in 2023 to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.