Business excellence, outstanding individuals, and investment in the future were all celebrated at the National Egg & Poultry Awards 2020, held as a virtual event for the first time.
Business leaders from all the major egg and poultry firms and representatives from industry bodies gathered to watch the ceremony online along with finalists, their colleagues, friends and family, to celebrate the achievements from across the spectrum of the sector. TV presenter Mark Durden-Smith hosted the ceremony, where a total of 12 awards were handed out, covering all aspects of the industry from investment in poultry processing, through to innovation in new productions, through to veterinary care.
New for 2020 were three awards specifically designed to recognise young talent in the poultry sector: young vet of the year, young farmer of the year, and young processor of the year.
The National Egg & Poultry Awards was launched in 2018 as an annual event by Poultry Business magazine and Lewis Business Media to recognise excellence and innovation in the egg and poultry sectors. Now in its third year, the standard of entries from across the country was excellent.
Everything from innovative scrambled egg products, to record productivity on layer units, and excellence in pullet rearing was recognised with a judging panel made up of BPC chief executive Richard Griffiths, turkey farmer Paul Kelly, BEIC chief executive Mark Williams, poultry farmer Charles Bourns, NFU poultry advisor Gary Ford, and Poultry Business editor Chloe Ryan.
The winners are:
Poultry Business of the year, sponsored by MSD : Moy Park
Egg Packer of the year, sponsored by Polymer Logistics: Farmlay Eggs, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire
Young Farmer of the year, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim: Victoria Axon, Cobb Europe
Hatchery of the year, sponsored by International Water Solutions: Joice & Hill, Peterborough
Egg Producer of the year, sponsored by ForFarmers: AW & GS Panniers
Unit manager of the year, sponsored by Aviagen: Anna Healy, Joice & Hill, Peterborough
Pullet Rearer of the year: Humphrey Feed & Pullets
Young farm vet of the year, sponsored by Zoetis: William Garton, Avivets
Grower of the year sponsored by Lallemand: Lee Baxter, Penrhos Poultry
Young Processor of the year: Stephen Pym, Moy Park
Innovation of the year: Noble Foods egg bites
Trade supplier of the year: LODI UK
Full coverage of all the winners and the event will be in the December issue of Poultry Business magazine.