Tom Woolman and Tom Willings take a slightly lighter approach this week, but there’s still plenty of business in the mix.

They start with a quick catch‑up, a livestock update from Tom’s small sheep flock, and a chance encounter with the “poet of Paddington” who delivers an impromptu chicken-themed poem on the station concourse.

The main focus is on what’s coming up for UK poultry producers over the winter: key conferences, dinners and technical meetings that shape discussion in both the egg and broiler sectors. They also talk about the value of these regional events as a barometer for confidence in the industry – and where the mood feels to be as 2025 draws to a close.

Tom and Tom explain a new charity auction prize for the South West Chicken Association Christmas dinner: the chance to guest‑edit an episode of the Poultry Network podcast. The winner will be able to choose the topic and guests, with the team doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

The episode closes with an important bit of governance news: NFU Poultry Board chair James Mottershead has stepped down, with vice chair Will Raw stepping in on an interim basis. The hosts reflect on the workload that comes with NFU roles and the value of members who give up time alongside running their own farms and businesses.

In this episode:

 * Welsh housing order now in place 
 * Key dates for the diary: BFREPA Live, regional dinners and the Northern Broiler Conference
 * How the “guest editor” podcast auction prize will work
 * NFU Poultry Board leadership change and what it means for representation

EP21: Upcoming Poultry Events and NFU Board Changes

In this episode of the Poultry.Network podcast, Tom Willings and Tom Woolman talk to Aaron McKenna, Head of Broiler Operations UK at Pilgrims Europe.

Aaron outlines his route into poultry – from a small mixed farm in Northern Ireland with a strong interest in dairy, through a graduate scheme at Moy Park, to his current role. 

He also explains how the business supported him through a doctorate focused on Campylobacter, working with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Queen’s University Belfast and AFBI.

The conversation then turns to the move from Moy Park to Pilgrims Europe. 

Aaron sets out what the change in name and structure has meant on the ground and how the integration of several large businesses is going. 

Recent group results have highlighted the European division as a strong performer, which has helped underline that the new structure is working.

On farming, Aaron talks about Pilgrims Europe’s long history of producing at 30kg/m², particularly in Northern Ireland, and how that experience meant they were more confident than most when the wider GB market moved to lower stocking densities. 

He argues that 30kg/m² is a good balance between welfare, efficiency and affordability. 

He shares recent figures from 2025, including an average EPF over 470 across three weeks and more than ten flocks exceeding EPF 500, alongside improving FCR and low mortality.

The episode also covers grower relationships and investment. 

Aaron describes how liveweight prices and on-farm returns have improved, helping farmers reinvest in sheds and infrastructure. 

He gives examples of new builds on contract farms in England and a major redevelopment of a company-owned rearing site, replacing older buildings with modern houses.

On sustainability, Aaron explains how lessons from projects such as Beech Farm – with rainwater harvesting, solar and battery storage, heat exchangers and ground-source heat pumps – are informing what should become “standard spec” on new builds. 

He also updates listeners on Pilgrims’ Tully 1 anaerobic digestion plant, which runs on poultry litter and supplies heat and power to local homes, and plans for Tully 2, which will allow all NI broiler litter to be directed into AD and nutrients recovered into fertiliser products.

Looking ahead, Aaron says the priorities for the next 12 months are to maintain current performance levels and to work with planners and regulators to unlock new poultry development, so the sector can continue to invest and keep pace with UK chicken demand, which he estimates is growing at around 5–6% a year.

EP21: Pilgrims Europe’s Aaron McKenna on Stocking Density, Performance and Sector Growth

THIS week, the Poultry Network Podcast recorded a last-minute episode to consider the latest avian influenza situation – particularly the Welsh government's reluctance to declare a housing order.

With Professor Ian Brown warning that this season could be the worst yet, England has extended a mandatory housing order nationwide, while Northern Ireland follows suit. 

Wales, however, has not (yet) announced a housing order. 

That divergence is creating headaches for free-range farmers and packers who are weighing biosecurity, welfare and insurance realities against inconsistent policy lines.

On EPIC, the mood was wary but not bleak. Recognition for sector leaders (including Turkey Producer James Chalmers and Young Poultry Person of the Year Hannah Cargill) underlined how collaboration and openness still cut through in a tough year. 

We also touch on the conference theme, the long-range consumer picture - yes, even GLP-1 drugs - and what shifting demand could mean for poultry by 2050.

Finally, we unpack a striking trade statistic: summer shell-egg imports were at record levels, with a sharp recovery from EU sources. 

For processors and packers, this hints at supply tightness, stock rebuilding, and changing sourcing dynamics as disease risk rises.

EP 20: Housing Orders Go Nationwide, Wales Holds Out — On-Farm Impacts & Market Signals

This week the Toms unpack two fast-moving issues with real commercial consequences for UK poultry businesses: the regional housing order for avian influenza and industry rumblings over how “seconds” are classified at egg packing centres.

AI: early season, uneven policy, real market risk.

A regional mandatory housing order takes effect on 30 October across much of northern England and the Midlands/East Anglia, but excludes Wales, southern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The hosts question the geographic carve-up given the pattern of wild-bird positives and recent outbreaks nearby.

It's noted that it's unusually early in the season, and case numbers have accelerated in the past week.

Producers - particularly in Wales - face operational uncertainty and potential divergence between national administrations.

Commercially, recent culls in the UK and mainland Europe (notably the Netherlands and Germany) tighten supply just as the market was edging back towards balance.

For eggs, the combination of early AI pressure and seasonal demand could turn sentiment quickly; for turkeys, significant sunk costs as the risk heightens in the run-up to Christmas.

Egg grading: pressure on what counts as a 'second'

Separately, egg marketing inspectors have been visiting packing sites amid indications that guidance on external faults may be applied more strictly.

The discussion focuses on two recurring triggers: dust (largely a farm-origin hygiene issue) and albumen "glazing" that can occur downstream when a shell breaks on the grader and residue contacts subsequent eggs.

Operators note that graders are configured by humans within tolerance bands, and inspector spot-checks sit against standards that can feel subjective in the grey areas.

If thresholds tighten materially, more eggs could move from Class A to B.

That would reduce retail-grade output, increase commercial friction over liability (farm vs packer), and exert inflationary pressure on Class A pricing.

At a national level, a lower Class A yield risks pulling in more imported shell and product - potentially with different assurance profiles.

Episode takeaways:

 * Volatility ahead in Q4. Early avian-influenza pressure, uneven regional policy and EU flock losses point to a tighter market and higher operational risk.
 * Layers and packing. Pay close attention to how grading guidance is applied in practice; even small shifts in "seconds" criteria can move Class A yield, producer settlements and retail availability.
 * All species. Keep biosecurity audit-ready and tighten comms discipline, as policy lines may shift again with November data.

The episode ends on a sober note: the picture is fluid, and the next few weeks are likely to set the tone for the winter.

E19: Early Housing Orders and Egg Grading Uncertainty

The “Two Toms” – Tom Willings and Tom Woolman – return with a relaxed but purposeful take on what’s moving the poultry sector. 

After some road-warrior and makeshift-office banter, Tom W reports back from the Dutch Pork & Poultry Expo in ’s-Hertogenbosch: a wave of robotics and AI, a colossal chicken/turkey harvester, and a spotlight on feed form innovation. 

He flags AgriFirm’s “Crunch” – a mash/crumb hybrid – to open a wider discussion on particle size, digestibility and early-life feed waste (including a mini-pellet revival).

The Toms then turn to unpacking live legal and standards stories: the River Wye civil action (Leigh Day, Avara and others) and potential ramifications across the value chain; the Red Tractor TV ad that was pulled and what “farming with care” does – and doesn’t – claim; plus welfare campaigning from Compassion in World Farming. 

They tie these threads into the Try Some Chicken initiative – balancing welfare, environment and cost – and probe the gap between what we say as citizens and what we buy as consumers.

A light sign-off rounds things out: weekend plans, and a nudge to catch the earlier episode and stay tuned for sector updates.

Ep 18: “Robots, Red Tractor and River Wye: This Week in the UK Poultry Sector

In this episode of the Sustainability Hub podcast, host Tom Willings is joined by three veterinary voices connected to Elanco Animal Health: Jackie Skelly (Head of Veterinary Technical Services, UK & Ireland and ESG lead), George Gould (Technical Advisor, International Poultry Team) and George Tice (former Elanco leader, now consultant after 28 years with the company).

Together, they map the practical route from ESG intent to on-farm results.

The discussion opens by grounding ESG in the realities of European and UK regulation: net-zero trajectories, corporate sustainability reporting, due diligence duties and finance-sector disclosure frameworks.

The message is that measurement and reduction will be expected across supply chains, not just corporate offices.

From there, the panel reframes poultry’s opportunity. Chicken already delivers ~30% of global animal protein while accounting for a materially smaller share of livestock GHGs.

Yet scale and scrutiny demand continuous improvement across three pillars – economic viability, animal welfare, and environmental footprint – without “solving” one by inflating the others.

That trade-off mindset is replaced with a systems view: define the target precisely (FCR, welfare KPIs, carbon intensity), then choose interventions that move multiple pillars in the right direction.

A critical insight for operators: 70–80% of a broiler’s carbon footprint sits in feed, and ~80% of emissions occur off farm.

Energy tweaks at the house may help resilience and costs, but carbon outcomes are won primarily through feed formulation and feed efficiency.

Elanco frames its response as “inside the bird” (gut health and disease control that improve FCR) and “outside the bird” (formulation decisions that reduce the embodied carbon of the ration).

Two technology tracks illustrate this. First, Hemicell (a beta-mannanase) breaks down beta-mannans that otherwise trigger a costly feed-induced immune response and raise digesta viscosity.

By sparing energy and improving intestinal integrity, nutritionists can remove ~60 kcal from the matrix and maintain performance, enabling the substitution of higher-carbon fats/oils while maintaining output.

Independent, ISO-aligned lifecycle assessment and modelling against representative European diets indicate ~2.5–3% reductions in carbon footprint attributable to Hemicell-enabled reformulation, alongside feed-cost benefits.

Second, Elanco’s anticoccidial programmes (e.g., Maxiban®/Monoban®) anchor coccidiosis control – a health prerequisite that also supports better FCR.

Elanco commissioned ISO-conformant LCAs on the products and then collaborated with external experts to build a product-agnostic FCR-to-carbon calculator.

Teams can input live parameters (country, target weight, feed price, baseline FCR) to estimate the carbon impact of a given FCR improvement under standard diets by market.

It’s a decision tool to rank scenarios before implementing and validating with farm-level measurement platforms (e.g., poultry-specific tools that include land-use change in feed footprints).

Elanco’s approach is to:

 * Keep investing in rigorous science and third-party assurance so customers can trust claimed impacts
 * Quantify hidden co-benefits of health technologies (welfare ↑, performance ↑, carbon ↓)
 * Develop the next wave of innovations designed explicitly for sustainability outcomes.

For producers, integrators, nutritionists and veterinary advisors, this episode offers a practical takeaway: start where the carbon is (feed), protect gut health relentlessly, use modelling to prioritise interventions, then measure and report with defensible methods. 

EP 17 Elanco: Turning ESG intent into measurable broiler performance gains

A chilly house, ten uncooperative sheep, and some serious industry talking points.

In this episode of the Poultry Network Podcast, hosts Tom Woolman and Tom Willings catch up on the latest from Aviagen’s producer roadshows and discuss why UK broiler performance is comparing favourably with results seen elsewhere in Europe. While some of the improvement may reflect down-stocking, they note that good margins are allowing reinvestment in housing, equipment and farm infrastructure – small but important details that continue to lift performance.

That discussion leads neatly into one of the more striking messages from Poultry Network Live, where Gordon Hickman OBE warned producers against grazing poultry alongside sheep or cattle. Similar advice has since been circulated by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The Toms consider what this could mean in practice for mixed farms with free-range or organic flocks, and how any future policy shift might test the balance between maintaining livestock enterprises and outdoor access for laying hens.

The conversation broadens to the global disease picture following a recent BBC documentary on “the next pandemic”. The programme focused on H5N1 infections now found across more than a thousand dairy herds in the United States. The hosts reflect on scientists’ concern that the virus is becoming more resilient in mammalian conditions – a reminder that avian influenza remains a live risk for agriculture and public health alike.

A second emerging story catching their attention is the concept of “layers laying broilers.” Developed by the international research project NextHen, it involves inserting broiler germ cells into sterile layer embryos, creating parent stock capable of laying broiler chicks rather than conventional hatching eggs. The technology could, in theory, simplify breeder management, free up rearing capacity and improve efficiency – but also raises complex regulatory questions. The company claims the process does not constitute genetic modification, yet it is unclear how that position would be treated in the UK or EU markets.

The pair also take a lighter look at their own livestock ventures. Tom Willings reports on the challenges of integrating his small flock of Beulah crosses and Black Welsh Mountain ewes, while Tom Woolman admits to discovering an unexpected resident at his new home – a peacock that insists on visiting his window each afternoon.

EP 16 Broiler performance, co-grazing risks and new breeding technology

The Poultry Network Podcast welcomes Julian “Jules” Sparrey, Group Technical Director at LiveTec, to unpack what producers should expect from avian influenza (AI) this winter and how to harden farm resilience.

LiveTec, prime contractor to government for AI outbreak response, now puts most of its effort into prevention — its “four Ps”: Prevention, Protection, Planning and Prediction. 

Having worked on nearly 300 UK outbreaks in the past eight years, the team has learned first-hand what a confirmed case means for farms and businesses, and how to reduce the odds of it happening again.

Jules explains why this past summer raised eyebrows: unusually high numbers of detections despite heat that would typically knock back virus persistence in the environment. 

The likely explanation is a maintained pool of virus within wild bird populations. 

August also saw outbreaks linked to pheasants in the South West and reports of dead gulls on farms — reminders that under-reporting masks the true extent of viral pressure. 

While LiveTec’s broad forecast suggests this season may be “heavy” (roughly two-thirds of the 2022–23 peak), timing and scale still hinge on weather and migration patterns through late October. 

Expect a lag: wetter conditions can seed problems that only show several weeks later.

A standout segment covers LiveTec’s work with GPS-tag data from gulls. Though only a snapshot (c. 60–70 birds), it reveals daily UK–Netherlands movements, long ranging during certain months, and roosting behaviour around freshwater — all of which can “move” virus across landscapes.

Jules stresses: it’s less that virus is “blown on the wind” and more that birds travel with it, often following prevailing winds.

On resilience, the message is practical. Beyond “biosecurity fatigue,” focus on infrastructure: drainage and curtilage to prevent water ingress, roof and gutter maintenance, rigorous rodent control (especially during harvest and cultivations), and wild-bird exclusion. 

Many UK sheds are ageing; refurbishment is surging, but design choices matter. 

Build biosecurity in from the start: site layout, traffic routes, delivery/drop-off points and office access that minimise entries to clean areas. 

The same measures help against salmonella — another reason to double down now.

For further reading and tools, the episode points listeners to EFSA’s biosecurity toolkit (multi-language infographics), Poultry.Network’s recent coverage of Gordon Hickman (Defra/APHA) on this winter’s risk, and a previous episode with Wayne Olbison (LANXESS) on the nuts-and-bolts of cleaning and turnaround. 

LiveTec's own podcast (hosted by Jack Hughes) dives deeper into biosecurity, and its free mobile app lets users view outbreak and wild-bird data around their farms. 

This winter, expect the unexpected, prepare for higher viral pressure than last year, and invest in the simple, site-level fixes that pay off when it counts.

Ep. 15: Julian Sparrey, LiveTec – What Producers Should Expect from AI This Winter

In this episode, hosts Tom Willings and Tom Woolman speak with Dr Paul Hurley (University of Southampton) and Dr Pippa Simmons (University of Gloucestershire) about Tri-SoMe CHICKEN — a three-year, UKRI-funded project examining the resilience of the UK’s chicken meat system. With chicken now accounting for around half of UK meat consumption, the team argues that understanding where the broiler sector bends or breaks under pressure is a national food-security question, not a niche academic exercise.

What sets this project apart is its “socio-metabolic” lens. Rather than model only physical supply-chain flows, the researchers are mapping how materials, practices, power dynamics and consumer behaviours interact across a tightly integrated system — from genetics and feed to processing, retail and what ends up on the plate. The work is being built with extensive industry input so the outputs are practical, not theoretical.

Where the system is most exposed

 * Disease and biosecurity — Avian influenza remains a first-order risk and the team is linking with parallel AI research to avoid duplication and widen the view.
 * Climate shocks — 2022’s extreme heat is a case study. Beyond shed environments, prolonged temperatures over 40°C challenge cold-chain reliability and plant operations. The question is whether current infrastructure and incentives are ready for more frequent, hotter events.
 * Feed markets — The system is optimised around soy. Geopolitics and trade shifts since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have pushed input prices higher and re-routed global flows (e.g., China sourcing more from Brazil). As a relatively small buyer, the UK’s access and pricing remain vulnerable.
 * Just-in-time fragility — High efficiency and vertical integration are strengths — until a single dependency fails. The 2022 CO₂ shortage, intertwined with gas and fertiliser markets, showed how quickly plant-level stunning capacity can become a bottleneck with immediate welfare consequences on farm.

Public perception vs production reality
New to broilers after work on cattle and sheep, Simmons highlights a deeper public disconnect with chicken than other species — few outside the sector grasp the separation of meat and egg lines, or how changes such as down-stocking from 38 kg/m² to 30 kg/m² ripple into carbon footprint, costs and throughput. Better dialogue is needed so welfare, sustainability and affordability trade-offs are understood, not assumed.

What ‘good’ could look like
The team is not writing another prescriptive standard. Instead, they are developing a flexible ethical framework — a set of principles stakeholders can use to weigh options when shocks hit or when policy and market changes tweak the system. Crucially, that means enabling long-term investment in resilience (heat-hardening sheds, stronger cold chains, alternative feed strategies) at a time when financial pressure pushes operators to think quarter-to-quarter.

Call for farmer input
A major workstream now underway is interviewing broiler farmers across geographies and systems — including different litter, energy, and waste strategies — to capture what resilience looks like in everyday practice. If you run broilers and are willing to contribute, contact details are in the show notes and on the Poultry.Network episode page. 

Trade-offs for a Resilient Broiler Sector – An Industry Stakeholder Workshop SAVE THE DATE: 23 October 2025 10:00-16:00 Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre, Birmingham, B15 2RS. Email to register: resilient.chicken@soton.ac.uk


Ep. 14 Tri-SoMe CHICKEN: Mapping resilience in the UK broiler machine

This week on the Poultry Network Podcast, host Tom Woolman is joined by editor Jake Davies for a special post-Poultry Network Live edition. Two weeks after the conference at Harper Adams, the pair introduce an exclusive: Professor David “Professor Food” Hughes’ keynote, captured on video by our on-site filmmaker Finn. The episode sets up that talk and why it matters now—then hands the mic to David.

Prof Hughes opens with the big picture: global food prices spiked to levels last seen in 1973, eased a touch, but remain ~35% above pre-COVID – leaving consumers vexed and farmers squeezed as inputs have risen too. 

He cautions against fixating on US tariff noise alone and flags the World Economic Forum’s “green risks” as the structural headwind shaping food over the next decade.

Turning to protein, poultry keeps gaining share globally – up from ~36% of meat consumption in 2013 to ~41% today – mainly at pork and beef’s expense. 

Yet the quiet outperformer is fish, especially salmon and pangasius, reminding poultry and egg sectors that competition isn’t just red meat. 

In the UK, per-capita meat intake is gently drifting down while total volumes are propped up by population growth; we’re eating meat just as often, but there’s less of it in products.

Hughes contrasts US and UK patterns (Americans now eat ~53 kg of poultry per capita vs ~35 kg in the UK), arguing there’s still upside here.

Eggs are “in good shape” with strong retail value growth; prices are high historically but the UK remains cheaper than several Western peers. 

However, income polarisation is redefining retail: a third of UK households are struggling, pushing supermarkets into relentless value positioning and producing “meat for the haves and have-nots” – from £3/kg whole chickens to premium cuts exceeding £50/kg. Eggs show the same split: value mixed-weight lines versus luxury tiers.

On the shop floor, he sees space and theatre shifting away from raw counters toward “meals and meal components.” 

Food retail and foodservice are converging; convenience rules. UK egg merchandising lags, he says – look to Spain and Asia for how to celebrate eggs with range, packaging and presentation. 

Convenience chains like 7-Eleven in Thailand and Japan have become meal-solution hubs for under-40s; expect UK formats (e.g., Co-op) to lean harder into ready-to-go food. 

Gen Z and Gen Alpha – true digital natives – define convenience as “right now,” buying snacks, mini-meals and components rather than ingredients.

That’s a tailwind for chicken (bites, nuggets, protein snacks) and a missed opportunity for eggs: the UK under-indexes on egg snacks compared with Asia and Latin America. 

Add eating occasions (breakfast and “anytime”), borrow global formats (Korean egg drop sandwiches), and market eggs as portable protein. 

He also notes GLP-1 weight-loss medications may nudge demand toward higher-protein, lower-calorie options – good news for poultry and eggs – while sustainability intent remains high but temporarily deprioritised by cost-of-living pressures (younger shoppers still care most).

Finally, Prof Hughes tracks the scale game: four of the world’s ten largest packaged food companies are protein giants (JBS, Tyson, Marfrig, WH Group). JBS is moving into eggs; Cal-Maine alone produces roughly the UK’s total egg volume. 

As value-added products grow, origin becomes opaque – raising a strategic question for UK self-sufficiency if more snacks and components are imported.

His closing message is optimistic but pointed: poultry and eggs win on price, nutrition, family acceptance and convenience – air-fryer-friendly chicken, microwaveable eggs – but the sectors must continually innovate to thrive.

E13 Professor David Hughes' Keynote Address at Poultry Network Live

Welcome to The Poultry Network Podcast, hosted by Tom Woolman and Tom Willings — your insider guide to the UK’s poultry meat and egg production sectors.  

From farm to fork, we bring you expert insights, latest trends, and stories that shape the food on our plates.

Jake Davies

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