By James Mottershead, broiler grower, outgoing chair NFU poultry board
If there’s one thing I’ve observed in the 19 years that I’ve been growing broiler chickens, it’s how fast the cycles go and that’s on a 49-day growing cycle. For the last crop I used more solulytes to keep the birds ticking over in the heat whereas for this crop these cold mornings at catching time have been a rude awakening to the system!
Mentioning rude awakenings, it was disappointing to see that cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza have returned this month, with cases confirmed in poultry in both England and Wales in October. If you haven’t yet, I really would urge you to refresh your AI contingency plans and make changes where needed to enhance your biosecurity. Everyone has a part to play in keeping this dreadful disease out of your farm, including Defra who have a key role to play in all this.
The government have the power to bring in housing measures for however long they deem necessary and when they deem it necessary – and I would like to see them being much more proactive with housing than we have seen in previous years. Yes, exemplary biosecurity is given as one of the greatest sources of protection but housing measures are another tool in the toolbox which must be used. We have sadly seen housed flocks confirmed with AI and so we know housing is not a panacea but when farmers are trying to do all they can to protect their birds we must be given all the tools to work with.
As I finish this column, I’ve seen an announcement from Defra to confirm the implementation of housing measures which is welcomed. We must now all keep a very close eye on the situation over the coming weeks and months and Defra must widen those measures in response to any change in risk.
One area where I am pleased to see Defra make progress is with the issuing of licenses for those caught up in the Disease Control Zones. An NFU member was telling me the other day that they had numerous licenses back within half an hour of applying for them – something that is really positive to see and long may that continue.
And finally, from an NFU Board Chair perspective, all our main work in terms of supporting the national officeholder team is focused on the budget. We want to see changes around proposals for IHT either in the budget or through amendments to the Finance Bill. NFU President Tom Bradshaw has acted like a true statesman in fighting these proposals alongside our amazing External Affairs team, with everyone working tirelessly to try and ensure that the government does the right thing and changes its course.