Time has flown by since writing my first chief’s piece, which featured in the August edition of NFU Poultry and can be read here on our dedicated poultry channel on 91²Ö¿â. I’m pleased to say that we are back at full strength with new Poultry Adviser Tom Glen, who joined the NFU in October. It’s great to have Tom on board and he will be a familiar face to some of you as he was a participant on the third Poultry Industry Programme (PIP) and has also been a regular attendee at many of the poultry meat conferences in recent years. For the more eagle-eyed, you may also recognise Tom as an ex-model for ABN in its previous adverts, but if you are not yet acquainted don’t worry, as you can find out more about him here.
The current situation
Tom joins the NFU at a challenging time for the poultry sector. Some of our broiler members are facing financial uncertainty, with a continued reduction in food service volumes compared to before COVID-19. A fairly flat market and rising feed costs contribute to hard decisions being made regarding the viability of placing chicks.
People often say, ‘where there’s a low there must be a high somewhere’ and at present many may point towards the laying hen sector for a more positive outlook. The sector has seen incredible demand for eggs throughout the lockdown and one concern is that a surge of new entrants and expansion plans all lead to additional birds on the ground, which in the future may result in an oversupply of eggs and further pressure on the price paid to producers.
At the time of writing, we are pursuing the government for an exemption for seasonal poultry workers coming from European countries that are on the UK’s quarantine list. This has involved a lot of evidence gathering and lobbying but is vital for our seasonal poultry members who rely on these workers. Many of the workers are returnees that carry out the roles that require specialised training and skills, which are not readily available when relying on local recruitment alone.
I’d like to thank all those members who have taken time to feed in their concerns which has helped in building a business case to present to government officials. With many sectors across the country facing economic losses and the rise in positive COVID-19 cases dominating the news headlines there are many obstacles yet to face in securing any kind of derogation, but we will continue to work hard to highlight the plight of the seasonal sector, and the fate of our Christmas dinner!
Putting your mental health first
It is currently , a campaign designed to raise awareness and highlight the importance of mental health in farming. It’s important that anyone who wishes to should be able to talk about their personal experiences with mental health and there are many inspirational advocates across the agriculture sector. The more we talk about this important topic, hopefully it will encourage others to reach out for help in their own time of need. Please remember there are specialised charities that can provide help and support such as the and , the latter of which is the charity of the late Patrick Joice, who raised an incredible amount of money as he so bravely fought his own battles in life.
I often think about Patrick, particularly when we make plans for the PIP, as he was such an influential part of its success and he faced challenges with such tenacity and always encouraged others to do the same. I like to think his legacy lives on in many of us as we all face our own challenges and support each other through this unprecedented time of change.
Read previous 'View from HQ' articles:
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