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EP21: Upcoming Poultry Events and NFU Board Changes
29 Plays16 hours ago
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
Recommended
Transcript
Speculation on Future Invitations
00:00:15
Tom Woolman
Hello and welcome back to the Poultry Network podcast. I'm Tom Woolman.
00:00:20
Tom Willings
And I'm Tom Willings.
00:00:22
Tom Woolman
Hello, Tom.
00:00:23
Tom Willings
Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Welcome back.
00:00:26
Tom Woolman
Thank you.
00:00:27
Tom Willings
Are ah you're You're sat in the dark.
00:00:27
Tom Woolman
i am. Yeah, I'm very, I'm very well.
00:00:30
Tom Willings
Are you in you in Brazil? Are you with everybody else that is anybody or nobody in COP30? Like...
00:00:38
Tom Woolman
i I'm still waiting for my invites um as keynote speaker at COP. You know, I'm sure if we keep on plugging away at at this this little media role for a few years, you know, eventually we'll we'll get invited to COP, won't we, to um to to talk about the big issues.
00:00:44
Tom Willings
like
00:00:54
Tom Willings
i think I think, Tom, by the time that you and I are invited, will be all over. you know If the leaders of the free world have decided it's beneath them, then it's only a matter of time before they fold it all up and think, do you know what?
00:01:06
Tom Willings
ah Paving our way through the Amazon isn't such a great idea for a conference once in a blue moon.
00:01:11
Tom Woolman
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:01:12
Tom Willings
And and we'll have we'll have missed the boat or however it is they travel there.
00:01:15
Tom Woolman
Well, cop does COP does also stand for, yeah, close of play, doesn't it? So, yeah, maybe not not not a great acronym.
00:01:20
Tom Willings
Yeah, very good.
00:01:23
Tom Willings
Very
Freedom without the Third Member
00:01:24
Tom Willings
good.
00:01:24
Tom Woolman
um
00:01:24
Tom Willings
we We've got a lighthearted episode ahead of us. we We should probably tell everybody else that normally there are three of us, but you only ever get to listen to two because our third brother in arms, our editor, our producer, our boss, um is in the background waving his arms in metaphorical sense, telling us what to say, sort of hand up the proverbial back.
00:01:45
Tom Willings
but But today it's just you and me. So, you know, cats away, mice shall play sort of thing.
00:01:50
Tom Woolman
Yeah, so i'm i mean I'm in control at the moment of of this podcast, and and I've been having a little bit of a mess around. um
00:01:57
Tom Willings
Oh God.
00:01:58
Tom Woolman
And i've I've downloaded some sound effects.
00:02:01
Tom Willings
Oh God.
00:02:01
Tom Woolman
So I've got, um look, ah we could introduce our guest today, who is um Henrietta the Chicken.
00:02:16
Tom Willings
Henrietta goes on even more than me.
00:02:18
Tom Woolman
she does yeah it's the same old thing moan moan moan um yeah so who knows at any point um no i haven't i haven't but if if i feel like you're you're going on for too long tom i might just interrupt and interrupt you with a with a chicken um
00:02:24
Tom Willings
You haven't got any more of those, have you? because I'm going to sign off if you have.
Sheep Integration Challenges
00:02:37
Tom Willings
Before before we do talk chicken, um let's talk sheep, just for everybody that, or anybody that listens to this will only want to know how your apartheid sheep are getting along or not.
00:02:37
Tom Woolman
so
00:02:47
Tom Woolman
Am I apart? Yeah. I mean, they're still not really integrating. They sometimes they integrate for short periods, but um very quickly sort of separate themselves.
00:02:58
Tom Woolman
So, um yeah, that's not going so great. I put the RAM in fairly recently.
00:03:04
Tom Willings
That'll stir things up.
00:03:05
Tom Woolman
Well, it yeah, it certainly has stirred things up. um And we put um we put what's called a rattle on the RAM. A lot of the listeners to this podcast will be familiar with sheet production.
00:03:17
Tom Woolman
But for those that aren't familiar with what a rattle is, it's it's like a little harness that goes on the ram and it's got a little crayon on the front so that you can see when he's mounted ewes, you can see who he's mounted and and when he has.
00:03:31
Tom Woolman
And that's been...
00:03:31
Tom Willings
It must be quite a color. What color have you gone for? Bearing in mind, you've got some black ones in there.
00:03:35
Tom Woolman
Well, it's bright green, a nice bright green.
00:03:36
Tom Willings
Okay, nice.
00:03:37
Tom Woolman
Yeah, it matches the grass. It's it's it's lovely. So that's been going very well. And the marks have been ah appearing on the bottoms of all of the ewes. But interestingly, there's one sheep ah in particular that that she's got marks on her bottom, but then actually she's got marks in all sorts of other places as well.
00:03:58
Tom Woolman
So she's got marks on her shoulders and and on her sides. um and i And I just thought, well, yeah, fair fair play to you. know you
00:04:06
Tom Willings
What
00:04:06
Tom Woolman
I might be calling you sheep, but you're clearly not just you know following the flock with with the way you're going about things.
00:04:13
Tom Willings
yeah yeah what what what would be fascinating? Fascinating might be the wrong choice of word, but it'd be interesting to see if it catches on. you know if they
00:04:22
Tom Woolman
Well, I hope not.
00:04:23
Tom Willings
Let's change the subject.
Culinary Adventures with Chicken
00:04:24
Tom Willings
Let's change the subject.
00:04:24
Tom Woolman
Okay.
00:04:24
Tom Willings
This is absolutely awful. We're going to get we're going to get into all sorts of bother, I would have thought. Have you eaten any eaten any chicken or egg this week?
00:04:29
Tom Woolman
yeah um have i eaten any chicken or egg i did i had a ah big pile of scrambled egg i stayed at a bed and breakfast this week and they said what do you want for breakfast did you want any bacon or a sausage i said no i just want nice big pile of scrambled eggs and that's exactly what they gave me with some parsley garnished on the top yeah how about yourself
00:04:47
Tom Willings
Spot on. Spot on. but Well done. Thank you. Yeah, I've been reciprocating. So i hit the chicken. My my sister bought it a spatchcock organic chicken.
00:04:58
Tom Willings
ah She wants her head red, really, because it's probably about 40 quid or something. No offence to anyone that's producing that, by the way. I'm sure it is absolutely worth every penny.
00:05:04
Tom Woolman
or And no offence to your sister either.
00:05:07
Tom Willings
I know my sister can take the offense. It's it ludicrous. um I think the person that ate the majority of it was her five-year-old. So, you know, it's obviously very, very tasty. But um yeah, I looked at it and i I almost wanted to frame it rather than eat it.
00:05:21
Tom Willings
It it must have been must have been pretty expensive. But again, good value, no doubt.
00:05:24
Tom Woolman
Yeah.
00:05:26
Tom Willings
Good value.
00:05:27
Tom Woolman
Yeah, very good, it's very good.
00:05:28
Tom Willings
There we are.
00:05:29
Tom Woolman
Well,
A Poetic Encounter at Paddington
00:05:30
Tom Willings
Come on, let's get into the content. i'm Sorry, go on, go on.
00:05:30
Tom Woolman
I've got another...
00:05:31
Tom Woolman
what Well, no, i've got I've got one final um chicken anecdote, which is almost too good to pass up. So I was in um i was in London last night, and and I was coming back from London today.
00:05:43
Tom Woolman
And I was sat in Paddington Station waiting for my train and with a croissant and ah and a coffee and a moustache, yes, looking looking out into the into the distance when all of a sudden a man came up to my table and he and he looked at me intently in the eye and he said...
00:05:50
Tom Willings
and a moustache. What a picture, what a picture.
00:06:00
Tom Woolman
um Would you like a poem? I said, oh, I don't I don't usually get that sort of a ah an invitation, but you know me, I'm i'm very open minded. I'm up for all sorts of things. so I said, yeah, yeah. I said, I'll i'll have a poem.
00:06:16
Tom Woolman
And he said, what would what would you like a poem about? He said, I could do all sorts of poems. I said, oh, that's interesting. I said, dumb could you do me a poem about chickens? And he and he looked he looked away for a little moment and and and he said, yeah, yeah, I think I think I can.
00:06:32
Tom Woolman
So he then he sat down and he delivered this poem to me, which was all about it was about Easter and it was about taking eggs from chickens and and painting them. um It was good and it was a really good poem. ma Fantastic.
00:06:45
Tom Woolman
And I got to the end. I said, oh who wrote that? And he said, I did. um So I just wanted to give a a big shout out to um to James Pendle, ah for it is he, who's the self-proclaimed poet of Paddington Station.
00:06:59
Tom Woolman
And apparently he he does poetry in Paddington Station on a Friday morning. So if you're ever in Paddington Station on a Friday, seek him out, see if he's got any other poems about chickens.
00:07:10
Tom Woolman
But I just thought that put a smile on my face at the beginning of the day.
00:07:12
Tom Willings
did Did you take a note of it? Did you write it down or record it or anything like that?
00:07:15
Tom Woolman
Well, I... No, I didn't. No. um And going to I'm going look it out because um I do. I do have a few poems about chickens. I like to collect poems about chickens so I could I could add it to the to the stack there.
00:07:28
Tom Willings
go, Friday Paddington, and put it in your diary.
00:07:33
Tom Willings
We've got a few other
00:07:33
Tom Woolman
Anyway.
Victory for Welsh Farmers
00:07:34
Tom Willings
diary dates.
00:07:34
Tom Willings
That was a seamless segue into what we actually talk about, which is dates for the diary.
00:07:36
Tom Woolman
Hmm.
00:07:39
Tom Willings
Before we look forward, though, we should look back in terms of the week that's just gone on, because it's not just COP30 that's going on around us. um ah We mentioned last time you and I were recording that the the Welsh were overdue a housing order and um in ah in a magical win for Daily Mail-style journalism, the undoubted pressure that you and i must have accumulated.
00:08:03
Tom Willings
um we shouldn't take all the We shouldn't take all the credit, but um note not less than a week later, it's been announced and it's already in place. So congratulations to Welsh government and and mainly congratulations to to Welsh farmers of um of outdoor poultry.
00:08:10
Tom Woolman
Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
00:08:19
Tom Woolman
Yes.
00:08:19
Tom Willings
too Too late for a few, sadly. but
00:08:22
Tom Woolman
Yeah, but certainly one thing to yeah to make this the situation slightly more more bearable for for the majority of other farmers.
00:08:22
Tom Willings
um
00:08:26
Tom Willings
yeah
00:08:28
Tom Woolman
Yes, no, that was good news.
Upcoming Poultry Events
00:08:30
Tom Willings
Let's look forward then.
00:08:30
Tom Woolman
ah
00:08:31
Tom Willings
What have we got coming up?
00:08:33
Tom Woolman
So yeah, we I was just looking at the different events that are going on and quite often I go to a few events and I say to people, are you going? And people said, oh I haven't heard of it. So I so i thought we could have a ah good opportunity to look forward at some of the events that are coming up over the next few months.
00:08:51
Tom Woolman
I guess the first one is ah Befrep Alive, which is on the 28th of November, which, quite frankly, you haven't heard of of Befrep Alive. You have been living under a rock probably for the last six months.
00:09:04
Tom Woolman
ah But it's the big it's the big free range show, isn't it? I say it's the free big free range show. Really, it's the big egg show.
00:09:11
Tom Willings
Mm-hmm.
00:09:11
Tom Woolman
There's this anyone who is any anyone there. And I've been once and I was even amazed. There were a whole load of people there that I wasn't expecting to be there. There are meat meat farmers tentatively looking around, trying to see whether they might be able ah to build a ah chicken shed and start producing eggs as well.
00:09:29
Tom Woolman
So it's quite an interesting, quite an interesting show and ah and a great big gala dinner as well in the evening, which is usually...
00:09:34
Tom Willings
Yeah, it's so it's a it's a very good bellwether really for the um the mood in the industry, the health of the industry, the profitability of an industry. And it's there you it's gone through phases of of being um attended predominantly by trade and and not so many farmers. And in the last couple of years, the farmers have come back.
00:09:54
Tom Willings
um in a big way. And I think that, you know, the numbers coming through the door are are kind of record level, um which is also testament to and paid tribute to ah Keith and the organisers of that that event, because, um you know, they work incredibly hard to put on a very, very good
00:10:06
Tom Woolman
Hmm.
00:10:10
Tom Willings
ah set of speakers for for um the audience during the day. But as you rightly say, you know the the evening is quite a bash as well. It's know it's it's it's become a a real high point of the calendar, I
Guest Editing Opportunity
00:10:23
Tom Willings
think.
00:10:23
Tom Willings
Looking forward to it.
00:10:23
Tom Woolman
Hmm.
00:10:24
Tom Woolman
So then on the 4th of December, there's actually two events going on in different parts of the country. In Lancashire, there's the Lancashire Poultry Club's Christmas dinner and on the 4th of December.
00:10:36
Tom Woolman
That's also the date for the Southwest Chicken Association Christmas dinner, which happens down at Congressbury, just outside of Bristol. So I will certainly be going to the Southwest Chicken Association Christmas dinner because it's it's one of my local ones.
00:10:53
Tom Willings
yeah
00:10:53
Tom Woolman
And there's a charity auction, which is which is raising money, and where we've come up with ah with a bit of a prize, haven't we, to to go into the charity auction this year?
00:11:01
Tom Willings
Yeah. Yeah. Listen in here, people, because this is this is almost once in a lifetime. Well, it is once in your lifetime so far because we've never done this before. But no, this is...
00:11:11
Tom Woolman
and we may and we may And we may never do it again.
00:11:13
Tom Willings
Yeah, if if it's four quid and and you've had to to to fork out to buy your own prize just to save face, then we're never doing it again. But in all seriousness, actually, there there is quite a big value price tag attached to and so what we're giving away here in the corporate sponsorship world of...
00:11:33
Tom Willings
you know, the Sustainability Hub podcast, what we're offering, and tom will Tom will do the unveil in a moment, but what we're offering actually has got, you know, a fairly hefty price tag attached. So um yeah, go on, Tom, tell tell us all about it.
00:11:43
Tom Woolman
Hmm. Hmm.
00:11:46
Tom Willings
I'll be quiet.
00:11:47
Tom Woolman
So what the the idea that we've come up with is is we've been doing a few of these podcasts now, haven't we? And it's quite fun to have a look at either what's been happening this week or or pick subjects or people that you want to talk to. And and it's quite exciting to to then put that into action and speak to people.
00:12:05
Tom Woolman
And what we want to do is offer an opportunity to guest edit the Poultry Network podcast. So whoever wins this prize will have the opportunity two pick the guests to interview, pick the subject to talk about, ah and and really shape, yeah, shape the outputs within reason, of course.
00:12:25
Tom Woolman
um You know, there are some things that I absolutely will not say. It goes without saying. Please, please don't.
00:12:32
Tom Willings
i
00:12:33
Tom Woolman
Please don't and push me.
00:12:34
Tom Willings
Bearing in mind what else we've said so far today, i can't imagine what that might be.
00:12:37
Tom Woolman
Yeah, yeah.
00:12:38
Tom Willings
but
00:12:39
Tom Woolman
so So it's a a really good opportunity, whether you're someone from a commercial background that wants your company to get a bit of airtime and to be talked about, or actually, even if you're not necessarily looking at this as a commercial opportunity, maybe you just know someone that's that's that's really funny and really interesting and you'd like us to talk to them, or there's ah there's an area or a story that you want to tell. It's a great opportunity to be able to set that out and and use the Poultry Network podcast as a vehicle to to do that.
00:13:14
Tom Willings
Exactly. And we're here to help with the with the legwork in preparation. So you haven't got to come with all the ideas, just just ah you know a kernel of ah of something to talk about. And then we can help you develop and flesh that out.
00:13:26
Tom Willings
And um yeah, make sure that you enjoy it. You can decide to participate and be on the mic if you want to, or you can stay behind the scenes and um yeah make sure that whatever it is that you're passionate about, um or you've got a particular point of view or you know belief in,
00:13:32
Tom Woolman
Hmm.
00:13:42
Tom Willings
ah Whatever it might be that um that that you you with us ah bring it to life and and bring it to the attention of a few more few more people. So if you're going to the Southwest Chicken Association event and you're you're going to get involved with the auction um over dinner, I think Patrick Hook will be ah an excellent, excellent auctioneer.
00:14:03
Tom Willings
then please do bid, please do put your hand in your pocket. It's all for a fantastic charity, fantastic cause. And we would love to work with you to um to record your very own episode of the Poultry Network podcast.
00:14:16
Tom Woolman
Mm. And they, they have got some other prizes that are quite good. I've, I've heard that there is a swimming pool in the auction.
00:14:22
Tom Willings
Yes. Yeah. we've We've got staunch competition. i'm not ah I'm slightly concerned that the swimming pool is going to get all of the funds and we might get left behind. We're going to be competing with the turkey.
00:14:34
Tom Willings
In fact, we'll be due we'll we'll probably do quite well if we match the price that the turkey goes for, if we're honest. But yeah.
00:14:41
Tom Woolman
Well, nothing ventured,
NFU Leadership Transition
00:14:42
Tom Woolman
nothing gained. Yeah. so
00:14:43
Tom Willings
Indeed. Indeed.
00:14:44
Tom Woolman
So that's that's on the 4th of December. um Then the the next Southwest Chicken Association event ah takes place on the 21st of January, which is which is when they hold their that annual general meeting.
00:14:56
Tom Woolman
And they have a technical meeting as well that's bolted onto that. And they have that at Padbrook Park Hotel, which is just outside of Clumpton.
00:15:06
Tom Willings
Clumpton, yeah.
00:15:08
Tom Woolman
And then the only... of the ah
00:15:08
Tom Willings
That's an old haunt.
00:15:10
Tom Woolman
It is, isn't it? Well, I used to live in Clumpton, actually, for a period when I was running a farm. And it's, yeah, it's a little chicken, chicken city down there. Chickens down...
00:15:18
Tom Willings
I still have flashbacks for my evenings in Pabrook Park.
00:15:19
Tom Woolman
or
00:15:21
Tom Willings
I'm sure there must be one or two ah farmers in the southwest who who will remember my my my time in a previous life down in Pabrook Park. I always always felt as though I was going to have you know bread bread rolls thrown at me or something infinitely more solid and painful.
00:15:37
Tom Willings
But yeah, ah did I did.
00:15:39
Tom Woolman
Well, you survived. That's the main thing.
00:15:40
Tom Willings
did.
00:15:41
Tom Woolman
Yeah. um And the the final event, which is another broiler event, is the Northern Broiler Conference, which is happening on the 10th of February next year in in Bradford. So that's always very good.
00:15:51
Tom Willings
Go you...
00:15:52
Tom Woolman
They have a dinner beforehand as well. And yeah, again, there's a lot of really interesting poultry businesses in that area. And there's usually a very good turnout. So put that in your diaries if if you want to come along.
00:16:04
Tom Willings
Yeah, lots so lots of dates for the diary.
00:16:06
Tom Woolman
Hmm.
00:16:06
Tom Willings
Fourth of December, that's the biggie. That's your Southwest Chicken Association Christmas event with with with raffle charity raffle for the podcast editor's role. So make sure you get down there for that.
00:16:22
Tom Willings
Tom, we should just mention that the other news this week is changing the NFU poultry board.
00:16:28
Tom Woolman
Yes. Yes. News which took us a little bit by surprise. ah think given that the the normal elections take place in February. um But also I think this change, but the the change that's happened is James Mottish Head has stood down as poultry board chair and is stepping back from his NFU duties and for now to focus on his on his business. I think he he says it's been quite a difficult decision, but I also appreciate the amount of time and energy that that that position requires with the NFU. It's quite amazing, frankly, that he's managed, that he's done it and he's done it for as as long as he has.
00:17:04
Tom Woolman
He's contributed really even before he was chair. he's but He's been doing this for a good number of years, trying to run a chicken farm and trying to to to do all the politicking that goes along with with being on the NFU.
00:17:17
Tom Woolman
um He's been replaced by the very capable Will Raw, who was a vice chair up until this point.
00:17:21
Tom Willings
Mm-hmm.
00:17:23
Tom Woolman
And I think Will is goingnna is going to stand in until February and then and then they'll they'llll see what happens in February going onwards. But um yeah, so fantastic luck to Will. I hope it goes really well.
00:17:36
Tom Woolman
um And yeah, I think we should never really take for granted how much effort some of these people put into... working on behalf of businesses like the NFU and working behind the scenes, because because quite often a lot of that work is going on behind closed doors. You don't see it.
00:17:51
Tom Woolman
And people are trying to run businesses at the same time, have families. So I just say, yeah, thanks to James and and thanks to to Will for all of your work.
00:18:01
Tom Willings
Hear, hear. Yeah. And to to anybody else involved in in any of those sorts of organizations giving up their time while trying to run a business, a point you made really, really clearly, really well.
00:18:13
Tom Willings
Yeah.
Humorous Conclusion
00:18:15
Tom Willings
Yeah. Thank you.
00:18:20
Tom Willings
That's time. That's time.
00:18:21
Tom Woolman
what's that Henrietta's telling us that it's it's time that we started wrapping up the podcast and yeah
00:18:26
Tom Willings
Tom, as ever, good to see you. Everybody else, thank you for listening. Sorry about Henrietta. We'll make sure that it doesn't make a reappearance, but until next time.
00:18:33
Tom Woolman
yeah but bye bye