Congratulations to our Vice-chair Stephanie Kerr who I look forward to working alongside, also thanks to Will Raw who has moved on from regional to national chair.
I have sat on the national Poultry Board now for six years and this has gained me plenty of experience across all sectors of poultry farming.
We farm across three broiler breeder sites in the Northallerton area, producing fertile hatching eggs for PD Hook’s Dalton hatchery. Modern facilities ensure we have very high standards of biosecurity and bird health, alongside a great team who help us, and we can get some strong performance from the breeders.
I’ve been involved with the poultry since a young age and with a keen interest in progression, we have trebled poultry numbers over the last eight years. Farming alongside my brother and father, we are a family business. As well as the poultry, we have a farrow-to-finish pig unit, some arable and a small amount of let workshop diversification.
As your board chair I hope I can represent members and the issues our region faces. I want to hear from you, in a world where we face increasing day to day pressures on businesses, then the NFU are here to help. Issues seen on farm need to be passed up the chain to national level, so our national board can act on resolving them where possible.
So please get along to the regional poultry meetings or pick up the phone! I have a keen passion for getting young people involved in poultry. We have a great industry and a growing one – planning reform needs to happen in order for this to continue and it is something we are constantly working on.