Picture: James with his father Richard at the BFREPA stand at the Pig and Poultry Fair
When Tom Vesey announced at the BFREPA conference that the winner of Producer of the Year award was James Holloway, nobody could have been more surprised than James himself.
"I was sitting there listening to Tom describing the winner's achievements, and until he said my name I didn't realise it was me he was talking about!" says James.
Thirty-one year old James farms with his parents Richard and Susan in Northamptonshire, where they currently have 28,000 birds on a Woodland contract. James explains how they started in Free Range:
"Up until 2002 we had an arable and beef farm in Warwickshire. We sold that with the intention of buying a bigger arable farm in the east, but the Foot and Mouth outbreak put an end to that plan. For a couple of years we didn't have a farm; my parents bought a house and retired, and I got a job as an assistant farm manager in Lincolnshire. But my parents started getting bored, and we wanted our own business again. We'd read that Free Range poultry was expanding and we decided to look into that.
"In 2004 we went to the Pig & Poultry Fair, where the first stand we saw was BFREPA. We spoke to John Widdowson, who answered all our questions, told us the first thing we should do was get a contract, and pointed us towards the packers. We went straight from the BFREPA stand to Deans' stand where we met John Holt. John showed a lot of interest and we agreed a contract – the only problem was, we didn't have a farm!
"After that we started actively looking for a farm and we settled on Holywell, in Northamptonshire, which consists of two houses and 120 acres arable, and had the bonus of being not too far away from where we were living in Warwickshire. We took Holywell Farm over in November 2004 and put in for planning permission straight away. Deans supported our application and it went straight through, so we were able to start production in January 2006 with a flock of 12,000 Hyline.
"Things seemed to be going along well, and in May 2006 we went for another chat with BFREPA and came back with some invaluable advice that helped us to fine-tune our operation. Around that time we applied for planning permission to build a second shed for 16,000 birds, and this shed came on line in March 2007, this time with Lohmann.
"Everything has gone according to plan. Poultry was a new venture for all of us, and we have found in this sector there is a lot more information available than in many other areas of agriculture, and a lot more people willing to give advice. We have never felt isolated.
"The position now is that we have obtained permission to build a third shed, which will house another 12,000 birds, bringing the total up to 40,000. We haven't decided on a schedule for building it yet, but we will time it so that we have single-age stock throughout."
James' success in Free Range is a brilliant example of what can be achieved in a relatively short time. But he remains modest about his hard work and the results it has brought. "Getting the award has given me a bit of a boost," he says. "This kind of recognition is always nice because it makes you feel you're doing a decent job." He adds: "My parents got a bit of a shock when I got home from the Conference and showed them the plaque! It's made them very proud."