The wide-ranging discussion covered avian influenza, the AI vaccine trial that is due to start soon, the glut of government consultations and the fact that eggs and poultrymeat are in high demand.
Ele Brown, UK DCVO (Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer), praised the poultry sector for being data-driven and said she was impressed at how poultry farms are run.
NFU Poultry Board Chair Will Raw said that farmers had taken the biosecurity messaging to heart and Nick Allen, CEO at the British Egg Industry Council, said that there might be a slight change in emphasis on the messaging with more stress being placed on the human behaviour aspect of biosecurity.
A lively presenter, Birthe Steenberg, Secretary General for AVEC (European Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade), made the point that the farming sector is being outmanoeuvred by well financed NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations), whose views are often represented to politicians as the views of the public.
Nick underlined that research from NGOs does not reflect shoppers’ actual behaviour in the store and when the public hears how UK farmers produce food they are often happy with it.
Birthe said the sector needs to rethink its communications strategy. “We need to show that we are not villains – we don’t have horns and a tail, we produce people’s food.”
She also recommended engaging with NGOs to see if there were areas of agreement and to ensure that both sides of the argument are being heard in the corridors of power.
In the Q&A session, James Baxter of BFREPA said that he felt some NGOs were reluctant to engage with agriculture.
Regulations and investment
Later in the Q&A, David Brass of the Lakes Free-range Eggs welcomed the Secretary of State’s announcement that poultry was being included in the animal health and welfare pathway veterinary checks scheme but also raised concern that APHA’s AI regulations were not all fit for purpose.
Tim Jelfs wanted to see more money spent on the marketing of Lion Code eggs.
John Davison referred to the planning system needing to take into account the lower stocking densities for broilers and asked if this could be considered in permitted development rights.
Will said that the NFU had been calling for this in government meetings.
Steve Bowler said the sector had been “keeping chickens a secret”, and he called on farmers to open their gates on Open Farm Sunday – biosecurity permitting.
“We need to show that we are not villains – we don’t have horns and a tail, we produce people’s food.”
Birthe Steenberg, Secretary General, AVEC on the poultry sector's communications strategy
Will answered Steve's follow up question about biochar being a solution to poultry manure issues by saying that the farming sector needed to take collective responsibility on the valuable resource of poultry manure.
NFU Chief Poultry Adviser Aimee Mahony concluded the session by thanking everyone for their attendance and participation and promoted the upcoming Poultry Research Seminar on the 15 April which will feature speakers on biochar, avian influenza and bird health and welfare.
Meet the speakers:
Nick Allen
Chief Executive, British Egg Industry Council
He was previously CEO of Berry Gardens, a co-operative of soft and stone fruit growers with a turnover of over £300 million.
Berry Gardens supplied fruit from its UK grower members and overseas partners to all major UK retailers, as well as the food service and wholesale sectors.
Nick spent over 20 years with Berry Gardens, joining from the accountancy firm KPMG in 2003.
During his time there, he held senior roles as finance director and chief operating officer before becoming CEO in 2019.
Ele Brown
UK DCVO (Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer), APHA
She works closely with Christine Middlemiss CB, the UK CVO (Chief Veterinary Officer), and with Jorge Martin-Almagro, the UK DCVO focused on international and trade.
She was appointed to this role in July 2023.
As UK DCVO, Eleanor supports Christine in providing veterinary advice on domestic and exotic disease control in England, key animal welfare issues and veterinary workforce challenges.
She has been a deputy director in Defra since December 2020 and also leads the bTB (bovine tuberculosis) programme, vet policy and the animal health strategic science teams.
She is an experienced veterinarian. Before joining the UK government veterinary service in 2010, Eleanor worked in private practice across England with livestock and companion animals.
She has spent time with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, working on pharmacovigilance when novel vaccines against bluetongue virus serotype 8 were rolled out.
She has a specific interest in animal population level disease control and vaccine evaluation, and has published on West Nile Virus and its risk of introduction to GB via travel.
Will Raw
NFU Poultry Board Chair | Director of Mill Poultry Ltd
During his time on the NFU Poultry Board, Will would like to place emphasis on better UK food security.
He is passionate about promoting the high standards of UK poultry to consumers, stakeholders and politicians.
As a former PIP (Poultry Industry Programme) participant, he was crowned the PIP award winner in 2021, receiving a prize from the Worshipful Company of Poulters.
Will operates a mixed farm in the north of England. The farm comprises 250 acres of combinable crops as well as broilers, supplying the independent poultry sector and growing for Frank Bird.
Alongside the farming enterprise, Will has invested heavily in solar panels and biomass boilers in attempts to achieve net zero.
His farm business has partnered with a farm-based AI company, Pondus. His farm is the principal Research and Development site, and Will is actively involved in the development of their farm management software systems.
Birthe Steenberg
Secretary General, AVEC (European Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade)
Birthe leads the strategic direction of the association together with her team, board and the president of AVEC.
Birthe’s team is based in the heart of Brussels, Belgium, close to policy makers and other stakeholders where Birthe is building the bridge between the poultry sector, policy and future legislation.
Birthe has a broad and extensive international network that she actively uses in order to increase the visibility of the poultry sector in Europe and beyond.
Birthe Steenberg has strong knowledge and expertise in the food and agriculture sector and has more than 20 years of experience in European public affairs, interest representation and strategic management.
Previously, Birthe worked as chief consultant in The Danish Agriculture & Food Council in Copenhagen, Denmark.
From 2012 to 2017, Birthe was the manager of the Danish Poultry Meat Federation.
Birthe has a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Copenhagen, and she is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Poultry Council as well as a series of committees including the European Commission Animal Welfare Platform, EFSCM (European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response mechanism), Advisory Group – Food Chain and Animal and Plant Health and Civil Dialog Group on Animal Products – Poultry meat and Eggs.
Birthe’s motto is action creates change.
Aimee Mahony
Chief adviser (poultry), National Farmers' Union
In 2019 Aimee was named the EPIC Young Poultry Person of the Year and eight months later was appointed NFU chief poultry adviser.
Aimee leads the NFU poultry team on a number of policy issues covering both the poultry meat and egg sectors and manages the national poultry board.
