The NFU North Poultry Board organised an excellent conference which took place in Preston, Lancashire, on Wednesday 22 October.
The North Poultry Conference attracted members from across the region. We were kindly hosted by Gafoor Poultry and their hospitality was excellent, with everyone being well fed after hearing from an interesting and informative set of presenters.
Gafoor’s Agriculture Manager James Dodgson opened up the conference and gave an excellent overview of the business from its inception in 1964 to the present day. The company accounts for 5% of poultry meat production in the UK and is one of Preston’s largest employers with many of the workforce walking to work.
Family-owned and now ran by the second generation, Gafoor supplies major businesses such as Myton Food Group and 2Sisters but also provides chicken to up and coming chain restaurants such as Wingstop, Dishoom and Popeye’s. The business prides itself on service, quality and price and have plans to make continual investment. They currently process 1.1 million birds a week with plans to be processing 1.3 million birds a week by autumn 2026.
Next up we heard from Sascha Van Helvoort, Veterinary Head of Outbreak Delivery at APHA. With an uptick in avian influenza (AI) cases being confirmed in both wild birds and poultry across the UK this was a very timely reminder of the importance of biosecurity. Sascha started by dissecting the definition of biosecurity and its ability to prevent not only AI but reducing the risk and consequences of any disease-causing agent.
Sascha thanked members for the improvements made to biosecurity on farms which has been witnessed by her team on the ground. She emphasised the importance of continuing to review protocols and ensuring staff training is treated as a priority. One tip was to include images in any training materials as they can help to reinforce the key messages and can be more easily digestible than lots of words on a page.
Following my update on NFU policy workstreams, it was a delight to hear from the final speaker, young egg producer Ryan Dakin who farms with his parents in Cheshire and looks after 32,000 free range hens. The family have been farming since 1947 and started a transition out of dairy in 2020. The poultry shed was built during the middle of Covid and Ryan said that getting workers was easy because the pubs were all closed!
With an added hint of natural humour Ryan took the audience through the trials and tribulations of being an egg producer. Now on his fourth flock he shared how his management style has evolved as he’s learnt from his own experience and by listening to others along the way.
Ryan has previously completed the NFU Poultry Industry Programme and it was good to see him putting everything he’s learnt in to practice. One highlight was seeing the effort he put into media interviews and being prepared to represent the poultry sector.
All of this hard work is paying off with Ryan’s dedication leading to being a finalist for the Farmers Weekly Poultry Farmer of the Year 2025 and recently winning the BFREPA Young Producer of the Year. It will be exciting to see what he goes on to achieve in the years to come.
Conference Chair Will Raw rounded off a great afternoon by thanking the speakers and promoting further networking between members present.