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New TFTA chairman looks to major on brand recognition
Suffolk farmer Mick Binder, who has been producing
Christmas turkeys for more than 20 years, is the new chairman of the Traditional
Farmfresh Turkey Association (TFTA).
Originally from Essex where he farmed in partnership with his father and
brothers, Binder emigrated to farm in Western Australia in 1979 producing wheat
and sheep north of Perth. He returned to the UK in 1987 to farm at Rumburgh
specialising in turkey production — with the initial 100 Norfolk Blacks for the
first Christmas expanding now to around 10,000 mostly free-range bronze.
He sells turkeys to farmgate and butcher customers under the TFTA's Golden
Promise label — the first UK brand to gain a EU food mark for traditional
speciality products.
One of his main goals will be promoting the difference between this product
and other Christmas turkeys. “Our members produce turkeys that are grown slowly
to full maturity, then dry plucked and hung for at least 7-10 days to achieve
the flavour and texture associated with a premium traditional turkey,†says
Binder.
“That's not something you can do on a large scale for the mass
market. We and our butcher customers need to make consumers understand the
emphasis on quality that's enabled Golden Promise — like some of Europe's other
prestige food products — to gain EU recognition.â€
Binder succeeds Essex turkey producer Jane Haigh who has been chairman for
the past two years. The new vice chairman is Robert Garner, who produces 3,000
free-range bronze turkeys in Norfolk.
Editor WorldPoultry
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