Almost a month after the first national Poultry Board meeting of the new term and I was stood in front of members at NFU Council to make my first report as a newly elected Board Chair.
When we met in March, Board members elected me as Board Chair and Will Lea as Vice-chair, and we have hit the ground running by reviewing our priorities for this next two-year term.
There are plenty of challenges that need our attention, not least the impacts on cost of production from the global turmoil caused by the ongoing conflict in Iran.
We are feeding into wider work that the NFU is involved in to ensure the concerns of members are highlighted with the government and I’d encourage members on the ground to feed any worries in via their regional poultry board representatives.
“One of my aims for updates at NFU Council will be to keep the wider membership informed of ongoing and upcoming work and I was pleased to be able to share insight of a new Defra scheme which will be open to poultry producers with chickens, turkeys, ducks or geese.”
NFU Poultry Board Chair Will Raw on the upcoming Poultry Biosecurity Review
Avian influenza
Beyond the here and now, it’s imperative to have a strategy for the future and for the poultry sector it is very hard to envisage a future without the ongoing threat of avian influenza.
During my update to Council members, I reflected on the number of cases this season in GB which sadly are not far off reaching 100. My heart goes out to the farmers dealing with this truly devastating situation.
On a more positive note, earlier this month the risk levels have been reduced for wild birds and poultry, contributing to the lifting of housing measures which have been in place in England and Wales since November 2025.
I was also delighted to be able to share news that the UK based AI vaccination trial in turkeys has now started and is something the NFU has been a key stakeholder in getting to this point. This is an accumulation of years of work, and we are following the trial very closely and will keep members updated.
Poultry Biosecurity Review
One of my aims for updates at NFU Council will be to keep the wider membership informed of ongoing and upcoming work and I was pleased to be able to share insight of a new Defra scheme which will be open to poultry producers with chickens, turkeys, ducks or geese.
The Poultry Biosecurity Review will operate under the government’s Animal Health and Welfare Pathway and allows eligible producers to apply for grant funding for a poultry vet to conduct a biosecurity review on farm.
The review will provide recommendations for improvements and marks a significant point the poultry sector which hasn’t previously been hugely involved in the grant funding options of the Pathway. See how the NFU is promoting scrupulous biosecurity.
The NFU will endeavour to provide support for those wishing to apply and I hope that producers will get involved when the scheme is launched in early summer.
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