Noble Foods has appointed poultry industry veteran, Reg Smith, as group agriculture director.
Smith joins the business, following an 18-month stint in Canada as vice-president of Agriculture at Atlantic Poultry, a private company owned and operated by Atlantic Canadian farmers. Prior to relocating, Smith spent 24 years in various roles at Faccenda Foods, one of the UK’s largest fully integrated family-owned poultry businesses. He held the position of agricultural director for 15 years, where he developed and managed a large contract farming base with a total base of just under 200 sites across England and Wales.
Commenting on the appointment, Dale Burnett, chief executive of Noble Foods Group, said: “As a board, we’ve been working on creating a business structure that would not only future proof Noble Foods but also allows us to push boundaries in the areas we operate in. Reg brings a wealth of experience of the poultry industry, but more than that, his passion for animal welfare has seen him at the forefront of the Antibiotic Stewardship Scheme for seven years, which led to an 80% reduction in antibiotic usage in the poultry meat industry. Noble Foods consistently works to drive improvements in the industry, particularly from an animal welfare perspective and Reg perfectly embodies this ethos in tandem with a ruthless focus on operational efficiency.
“Noble Foods is setting the global standard in cage-free farming and it is one of the many reasons I’ve taken on the role,” said Smith. “It is invigorating to join a like-minded business that can combine operational success with the highest welfare standards.”
