Duncan Priestner, NFU national poultry board member and egg producer from the North West spoke on behalf of the poultry sector. He said “I produce 30 million eggs a year and I am proud to feed the nation healthy, affordable food. We all want Brexit to be a success. The poultry sector is unsupported but to maintain our level of investment and confidence in the sector we do need some assurances”.
Duncan also emphasised the importance of access to labour for the poultry sector; this was re-emphasised by the spokesperson from the NPA. Although the employees on his farm are from the local area Duncan explained that he also relied on non-UK labour for his business to operate, for example veterinarians, catching teams and personnel working in old hen processing.
Following the speeches MP’s had the opportunity to ask questions. The discussion centred on what producers need from the government post-Brexit and how the industry and government can work together. Animal welfare was also topical with producers present at the meeting raising concerns on what the government’s aspiration for ‘highest welfare’ looked like.
Another focus was around the health and harmony paper which is currently being consulted on. Duncan said “the command paper is important to farming and it’s important to the nation so that they can access affordable and healthy food”. He continued “I’d also like to encourage all of the MP’s present at this meeting to ensure agriculture gets a fair deal that supports rather than undermines the pig and poultry sectors”.