New poultry board delegate for NFU Cymru

Tony Burgess of Birchgrove free range eggs in Trawsgoed near Aberystwyth has been appointed as the new Poultry Board Delegate for NFU Cymru.

Tony and his wife Gwen have been involved in the egg industry in Wales for nearly thirty years, initially in cage egg production but over the years they have converted entirely to free range eggs. Apart from their own production unit they also pack eggs from another five farms - all Wales based.

Tony is a strong advocate of regional food production especially 'Brand Wales' and was named 'Farmers Weekly' Poultry Farmer of the year in 2006, along with the title of Ceredigion food producer of the year.

As a delegate Tony Burgess has several goals he would like to achieve on behalf of the industry not only in Wales, but in the UK as a whole.

Mr Burgess said, "Here in Wales we are fortunate to have NFU Cymru who represent us in Welsh Assembly, Westminster and Brussels, in addition they are identifying consumers needs, without which none of us would be here. We are currently in a consumer led industry and I'd urge Welsh poultry farmers to take full advantage of the marketing and selling opportunities for our regionally produced food. Consumers are becoming ever increasingly aware of food production and as such are more discerning and discriminating and more importantly are prepared to pay more for food that matches their criteria.

Tony also said that, "Many poultry and egg producers in Wales are on quite a small scale geographically distant from feed mills and can not benefit from the economies of scale experienced by many of the larger producers. We are currently paying in excess of £25 per ton more for our feed and therefore we must seek other marketing options apart from price to achieve a competitive advantage. I would like to see poultry producers in Wales forming a buying group to negotiate on mass with feed mills, packaging companies and even energy providers, just think of what a £10 per ton reduction in feed could mean.

Mr Burgess went on to add, "Another point regarding egg production is the dilemma or mystery that surrounds spent hens. This year is the first time in years that we received payment for our spent hens-8p per bird to be precise. A positive step, but why not more when each bird weighs approximately a kilo and many of my customers who own sandwich shops tell me they cannot source British processed chicken. I hope to have the opportunity to have this explained.

Following on Mr Burgess said, "Another concern on egg production is DEFRA's new zoonosis rules, if positives are found all eggs produced in that particular flock must be heat treated, at this moment in time I am not aware of a single processor who would accept them. What are we expected to do with eggs produced until a cull can take place? The financial implications of positive results are frightening."

Tony is concerned about DEFRA's cutbacks with regard to Egg Marketing Inspectors, at a time when their workload has increased a 100%. He said, "We need to rely upon effective EMI's to ensure consumer confidence in our product is maintained, we cannot rely upon accreditation schemes alone. I know that cage egg producers are currently facing terrible dilemmas and concerns on their future. Personally I believe everyone in this country owes this industry a huge vote of thanks for supplying the people of the UK since the War with an inexpensive and nutritious food. It was after all a plea from Winston Churchill to British farmers to intensify to feed the country."

Tony continued, "With regard to chicken production, I know there is increased consumer demand for free- range and high welfare standard birds, hopefully producers will see this as an opportunity to reach new markets, increase sales and achieve greater returns.

He concluded with, "Over the year I hope to visit and listen to NFU Cymru members throughout Wales to gain an insight into all aspects of the poultry process. We are currently fortunate in Wales to have Elin Jones as our Rural Affairs Minister who is approachable and appears genuinely concerned with rural issues, and is aware of the rural communities' problems as a whole, I will always take every opportunity to inform her of all issues relating to our industry."