By Aimee Mahony, NFU chief poultry adviser
February has flown by and it’s been great to see producers and industry stakeholders in person at the various conferences that have taken place. One such event which took place towards the end of the month was the NFU conference, hosted in Birmingham with 1,400 people in attendance.
The highly anticipated political sessions saw the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer address the conference audience as well as sessions with representatives from the current government: Defra Secretary Thérèse Coffey and Farming Minister Mark Spencer. Over the two days audience members witnessed the highs and lows of political engagement and saw first hand the challenges around landing key messages on the issues that affect farmers the most.
In an opening video address the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged how important farmers are, recognising not only the work that they do but also the way of life for farming families.
Warm words are always nice to hear but actions are what we really need. Business resilience is front and centre of every conversation the NFU is having right now and future strategy is pinned on de-risking businesses form the multitude of threats whether that be increasing costs of production, avian influenza, or access to a reliable workforce.
It’s important we remain solutions based. The poultry sector prides itself on being progressive and innovative so offering answers to the many questions being asked is something we are good at. However sometimes it does really feel like spinning plates.
Whilst being progressive and productive is key, profitability remains imperative. It’s a word that sometimes we shy away from but it is central to business success. The NFU poultry board are looking at ways to help members ensure their businesses remain resilient and most importantly profitable during these turbulent times.
February also saw the first meeting of the cross industry and government Avian Influenza vaccination taskforce group and the sixth and seventh AI roundtable meetings chaired by Lord Benyon. It’s vital that these meetings continue to carve a pathway forward for a long-term vision for the sector and there should be more to report on in relation to this in the near future.