THE Northern Ireland Poultry Conference at CAFRE’s Loughry Campus, attracted almost 150 delegates to hear presentations on the theme of ‘Opportunities and Challenges in the 2020s’.

Opening the conference was Richard Kennedy, Chief Executive of Devenish, who handed over to the morning chairman, Ivor Ferguson, President of the Ulster Farmers’ Union.

Ivor introduced the three speakers up to lunch-time, including Mark Williams, Chief Executive of the British Egg Industry Council, who looked at the opportunities and challenges facing the commercial egg sector. He was followed at the podium by Robert Huey, Chief Veterinary Officer, who spoke on Veterinary Public Health and the challenges and opportunities it presents to the poultry industry.

The third morning speaker was Billy Armstrong of Food Standards Agency NI who looked at what is next in food safety regulations.

After lunch the afternoon session was chaired by Nigel Renaghan, regional chairman of the Irish Farmers’ Association, who introduced two speakers and chaired the ensuing discussion.

The first afternoon speaker was Alan Thomson, general manager of Aviagen UK Ltd, who looked at challenges and opportunities from a poultry breeder’s perspective. Final speaker was Randy Stroud, head of global live support at Pilgrim’s Pride, who compared challenges and opportunities within the US and UK industries.