Zoetis and BPC sponsor Poultry Trainee of Year Award

12-07-2013 | Home | News

Entries are invited for the Zoetis/BPC Poultry Trainee of the Year Award – sponsored by Zoetis, formerly the animal health business unit of Pfizer Inc., and the British Poultry Council is now fully involved for the first time.

The award, organised in association with the journal Poultry World and including a £2,000 training grant, highlights the opportunities for career development in one of the most dynamic sectors of UK food production.

“The award provides a fantastic platform for the industry’s future generation to win a grant that can have a very positive impact on their own development and potentially the whole poultry sector,” said Tony Grainger, poultry product manager of Zoetis. “They are the young entrepreneurs of tomorrow’s industry.

“Past winners have made the most of their prizes, investing in furthering their education as knowledge is the key to a successful career.”

John Reed, BPC chairman, added: “It is essential for our young employees to know that their hard work and dedication is recognised by the industry. The quality of the entrants gets better every year, and shows the diversity in our businesses. This award celebrates the best that the poultry industry has to offer, and I hope it encourages more young people to choose poultry as a career.”

Entries are simple to make and open to all in the industry – with no age limit — but must be received by Friday August 30. The judging panel — Phil Clarke, editor of Poultry World, Richard Griffiths of BPC, Tony Grainger of Zoetis and John Newton of ADAS — will chose three finalists who will attend the prestigious BPC poultry awards presentations at the House of Commons on December 2 when the winner will be announced.

Last year’s award winner Rachel Almey, of Laxfield, Suffolk, was quick to take up the grant, using a major part of the £2,000 for a nine-day poultry health course at the Pirbright Institute at Compton, Berkshire, in February and March. She won the award managing one of VION Food Group’s farms where her first flock of broilers reared to higher welfare standards broke the company’s record for performance.

The 2011 award winner — James Newman from Suffolk-based duck producers Green Label Farms — used the grant to cover a number of areas including management training, instruction on machinery operation and animal welfare and fire safety training.