Poultry producers will be eligible for a new package of grants, the farming minister has announced, as he opened the British Pig & Poultry Fair 2024, at the NEC in Birmingham on 15 May.
Mark Spencer spoke about the grants announced following the second Farm to Fork summit, held on 14 May at Downing Street.
Over £22m will be available for pullet producers with flocks of more than 1,000 birds, said Spencer, as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Grants of between £15,000 and £500,000 will be available to refurbish or replace housing to improve heath and welfare of birds, and for equipment such as mechanical ventilation and modifications such as verandas.
The grants for poultry producers are part of a larger newly announced package of grant funding of £427m.
“The prime minister is clear food security is critical to national security,” said Spencer.
In a Q&A session after, James Baxter, chair of the British Free Range Producers Association, said grants for manure storage would be far more valuable to the industry than grants for verandas, and said government had not listened closely enough to what the industry needed.