By Gary Ford, head of strategy and producer engagement, BFREPA
The recent National Egg and Poultry Awards celebrated some of the talent, commitment and passion that we have in the wonderful UK poultry sector and we are fortunate to work in a sector that is progressive, forward thinking, embracing challenge and change. I am biased but I would argue there is no other sector in British agriculture that comes close to our focus, combining attention to detail as well as the positive can-do attitude that we see in poultry – all of which was on display at the recent awards dinner.
We do need all of that positivity as we continue to face into current and ongoing challenges. The here and now is the ongoing bird flu outbreak which seemingly refuses to go away despite the time of year. Five cases in June were followed by five cases in July all of which is unheard of. We now have our first case in August. This season (which started 1 October 2024) we have lost 2.2m layers/pullets combined on 16 farms across the UK. The majority of recent cases are associated with coastal locations and this does tie in with the risk associated with gulls and other coastal/sea birds however, there is speculation around the role played by the wind or airborne transmission of the virus.
I have previously said that we need to focus on what we can control and what we can control is biosecurity on the farm including the access to the farm buildings. Even though the current risk level to commercial poultry is ‘low’ we need to be on our guard even at this time of year as we are now experiencing. The Defra definition of ‘low’ is split into two depending upon the level of biosecurity: the event ie infection of commercial poultry farms ‘occurs regularly’ where there is ‘suboptimal’ or poor biosecurity and is ‘rare’ but does occur where stringent biosecurity is consistently applied at all times. I think it is worth remembering that, as per the definition of ‘rare’, we are seeing well run farms with stringent biosecurity being confirmed with the disease such is the risk of this disease to our sector.
Bird flu is a worry for all poultry farmers. Concentrate on what you can influence and change to reduce your risk – what you have control over. If investment is needed in, for example, a hygiene station as you enter the site or other improvement to make the farm more biosecure please implement that investment now. Please also take advice on what more you can do to protect your farm and your flock be that from your vet or the various companies that offer such a service. A ‘fresh pair of eyes’ is nearly always worth it. We are a positive and progressive sector, always looking to improve, and we will draw upon these attributes and we will prevail.